The Icecream Parlour
by scarletskies
Summary: CCSxSt Tail. Two feared rival gangs at Tomoeda High; Sakura’s and Syaoran’s. Both hate each other equally, but what happens when they have to stand side by side against another school? DM ET but especially SS
1. ColdPlay

CCSxSt Tail. Two gangs at Tomoeda High; Sakura's and Syaoran's. Both hate each other equally, but what happens when they have to stand side by side against another school? DM ET but especially SS

eLO guyz! itz bn a loooooonnnnnnng time no c, eh? Well not really..o.0;; juz me being a sad lonely me…well just c if u lyk this ficcie ok? The iz my SECOND fic..i hafn't evn fin the FIRST yet..i am NOT EXPERIENCED…plz shower me with praise and encouragement! If tat iz asking 2 much..then a simple, much-appreciated review is fine, eh?

yes, this story has magic…but it only forms a small aspect to this stori. I am a v devoted relationship/romance riter! N tha magic in this stori iz kinda the magic with the cards and my own. Just a mix match and a whole rolled up ball of junk! Enjoy newaiz.

Disclaimer: 'tis not mine. No characters r mine, juz the storyline…

**The Ice-cream Parlour: ColdPlay**

'Another day at stupid school' thought Sakura as she finally woke up, not caring that she's late, again. 'It's not like we learn anything interesting anyway…'

She put on her school uniform, which was a white dress with blue plaid designs. Sakura had customized this dress stylishly, with several cute badges, pins, iron-ons and a classic rip on the side. It was unusually short for a school dress, four inches above the knee, which gave her freer movement.

Trudging to the bathroom, she straightened her white collar and pulled up her knee-high socks. Sakura glanced at the mirror. Her reflection showed a girl with brown-red hair that, over the years, had grown past her shoulder blades in soft curls. She brushed her hair slowly with her hand. Might as well waste time, if she was already late.

Nobody was at the breakfast table, because her father was away on a business trip and Touya was sharing an apartment with Yukito, which was near his university. Sakura grabbed an apple, her bag, her skates and headed towards the door.

* * *

At school

Sakura walked along the still corridors, her footsteps echoing. She bet that everyone was already in class by now, the teacher probably calling the role. Turning left and opening her classroom's door, she realized she was wrong. Her teacher wasn't there, for some reason. The whole class was chatting loudly, laughing, gossiping or giggling.

A sudden hush fell over the class.

As Sakura entered, it was silent. The atmosphere changed drastically. Nobody dared to talked, or even whisper. They looked at Sakura Kinomoto in many ways. Some hated her, some were jealous of her, or some were scared. Some liked her but were too scared to admit it. It wasn't easy to be friends with Kinomoto. But all in all, they all admired her. And respected. Of course you had to respect her. Not because she was at the top of the social ladder. Or because she had money. Or because her parents had high status reputations. It was simply because she, herself, had power. She was the leader of Blood Phoenix.

Sakura weaved casually through the students as if nothing was wrong until she reached the corner where two girls, one with dark lavender hair and the other with strawberry blonde, were sitting.

"Hi Tomoyo, Meimi," she greeted them cheerfully. She could feel the people behind her relax and start talking again, but in low voices. "Hey Saku," they both replied, both holding back sniggers because of their classmates' reactions.

"How's Blood Phoenix going?" Sakura glanced past her shoulders swiftly before she asked, "And is it me or is the class awfully quiet today?"

Tomoyo laughed lightly. "It's probably because you scare them, Sakura."

"Why, do they think I'm in a bad mood today?" Sakura smirked. She put on a tiger face with hands raised like claws.

"Well when you're late you're usually in a temper…what's your excuse today?"

Sakura grinned sheepishly. "No excuse, Tomoyo. But seriously, why_ does _this silence from the class seem so weird? I mean, even before I walked in it was quieter than usual."

Tomoyo smiled. "You want to know why? It's because Meimi here," she pointed at the blonde, "wasn't fighting with that Mr Asuka Jr this morning."

Meimi looked up. "If you mention that idiot's name again..."

"What, no yelling competition? Isn't he here?" commented Sakura. "Too bad…you were winning yesterday Meimi."

"No…in fact, all the guys from the Dragoons aren't here at school at all," Tomoyo spoke up.

Sakura raised her eyebrows. "No wonder it's so quiet...and no wonder I couldn't sense their auras…"

Tomoyo sighed dreamily. "I know…imagine…a day without Li and Asuka…pure bliss…no pranks, no yelling, no fighting." Sakura and Meimi had failed to notice that she didn't mention Eriol Hiiragizawa (hehe I wonder why?)

"Personally I would love to give that Li bastard a bashing, physically and magically," growled Sakura.

"Yes yes, Sakura, but it _is_ very energy draining to put your efforts into doing something that's really not worth it…" responded Tomoyo soothingly.

Sakura sighed. "You're right as always, I suppose." She looked around, realizing the fact that the teacher _still_ hasn't arrived yet. "Where is she, that Ms Lai, by the way," she asked Meimi loudly.

Meimi covered Sakura's mouth with her hand, stifling a giggle, because several people turned their heads to look at them questioningly. "Sshh…the whole class might hear you…"

Tomoyo put a finger on her lips and then said in a voice louder than Sakura's, "Ms Lai told me she was stacking books in the library by the principal's orders and that she might be a bit late…" then dropping to a low voice, "we got rid of Ms Lai this morning, 'cos you were late Saku."

Sakura grinned, "Thanks Tomo, but how?"

"Oh it was the usual," responded Meimi with a mischievous gleam in her light blue eyes.

"You know, I tell the Ms Lai the upstairs toilets are flooded…" said Tomoyo.

"And then I slip into the toilets without anyone noticing and dump a rock in one of them…" continued Meimi.

"And while Ms Lai is walking there I use water magic to make that toilet flush like, ten times…"

"And then I come out of the toilets to see Ms Lai hurrying down the corridor…"

"And Meimi pretends to scream for help and runs out of the way…"

"And after that Ms Lai opens the door and water rushes out…"

"And now she's cleaning it up." concluded both of them in unison.

Sakura giggled. "So she's not coming back till like, morning recess, right? Why not get out of here to do something else? We have two whole periods to waste…"

"Great!"

"Let's go to the ice-cream parlour…there's that new flavour I want to try."

"Wait." said Tomoyo. "Just in case…" she snapped her fingers lightly. Upstairs, they heard a faint noise of a toilet flushing twice, and a lady squealing. "in case she comes back early…"

The trio ambled out of the classroom with confidence, with the whole class staring at their backs incredulously, wishing they had the guts, and the power, to skip school, just like that.

* * *

Ice-cream parlour

The glass door opened and three 17 year-old girls walked in. Syaoran growled when he recognized their auras. Especially the one in the middle, the dominant one. Finishing his last scoop of chocolate ice-cream, he lifted his eyes to a boy opposite him who had dark navy hair and sapphire eyes.

"Eriol," he said, "they're here." Eriol appeared unfazed and continued to eat his choc-mint ice-cream calmly. Syaoran tried his other friend who was sitting next to him, Asuka.

"Asuka…you can sense them right?" Asuka nodded slowly, his eyes hardening when he spotted a head of strawberry blonde hair.

The three girls had settled into the little bar chairs near the window, which was not far away from them. Syaoran watched those three from afar with great dislike, especially the one with auburn hair. A waiter had just taken their orders and they were chattering amongst themselves without a care in the world. 'Surely they must have sense my aura by now?' he asked himself disbelievingly. 'Even Kinomoto, the strongest of the three, can't sense it? It's not like I'm hiding it or something. I wish Asuka would hurry up and finish his ice-cream…I can't _wait_ to get them…'

Eriol looked at his friend with a hint of amusement across his face. He knew that, for some reason, Syaoran had a thing against Sakura, as did Asuka for Meimi. Even though Blood Phoenix and the Dragoons were rival gangs and hated each other anyway, it seemed that Syaoran hated Sakura more than the other two girls in the gang, and Asuka hated Meimi the most. Maybe it was because they had the same magic as the other? While Asuka controlled wind and lightning, Meimi also controlled them. And Syaoran and Sakura both control fire and card magic. But that shouldn't be the reason though, because in the Blood Phoenix, there was another girl who controlled the same magic as Eriol himself, water and healing. That girl was Tomoyo Daidouji, but Eriol didn't hate her. In fact, he thought she was quite attractive, amethyst eyes and all, but of course he wouldn't say that to his friends. What would they think of him, fraternizing with the enemy? (Umm…do you get that? If this paragraph seems like it doesn't make sense…)

Eriol was snapped out of his own thoughts when Asuka dropped his metal spoon into the small glass ice-cream bowl, making a big clanging sound, indicating he had finished. Syaoran stood up; Eriol and Asuka did the same obediently.

And then, with all the confidence he could muster, Syaoran strode over to where Blood Phoenix was sitting, with Eriol and Asuka following.

* * *

"I know, it must have been like, months or some-" Meimi stopped mid-sentence and her back stiffened when she felt three strong auras coming near them. Tomoyo looked at her strangely but after a few seconds she realized it too. Sakura, on the other hand, wore the same annoyed expression she had when she entered the parlour. 'No wonder she looked so pissed when she came in,' thought Tomoyo. 'But why didn't she tell us before?' 

"I already knew," whispered Sakura, as if she was reading Tomoyo's mind. "I just thought we could avoid them…that they won't notice…because I uh," she grinned shamefacedly, "I really really wanted strawberry ice-cream!" Tomoyo sweatdropped. "But don't worry Tomoyo…I'll take care of this…" muttered Sakura, a little guilty because Meimi and Tomoyo were frozen on their bar chairs.

"Kinomoto," said a deep, dark, voice. Sakura spun around, finding Syaoran's amber eyes bearing down on her.

"What Li?" she glared back.

"Why are you here?"

"Why can't I be?"

"We were here first; why didn't you leave when you already knew we were here?"

By now, the whole parlour was watching this little fight between Sakura and Syaoran. It was like a custom that the two fought here. The people's heads were snapping from left to right, almost like in a tennis match.

"Why should I? Can't I get ice-cream?"

"We made a deal that we won't be in the same place at one time or there would be consequences."

"Blood Phoenix never breaks their promise; but in actual fact, the deal was never made."

"Don't lie. There was a deal."

"No there wasn't. I don't recall."

"Maybe it's because your brain is the size of your bird dung." Syaoran smirked. He got her there. He could see her fuming, red in the face, eyes ablaze. The crowd gasped and took a sharp intake of breath.

Suddenly, she smiled wickedly. Her fingertips were smouldering as she rubbed them lightly together. Syaoran wondered what she was smiling about until he noticed smoke coming from her hands. His triumphant smirk vanished as he realized she was using her fire magic…on him! Something was burning; he could smell it; it was near him, somewhere…he could feel heat licking his ears…

"Stop!" someone yelled desperately, someone running through the crowd to them. Both Syaoran and Sakura turned their heads towards the man. Sakura, who was distracted by him, had stopped using her magic. Syaoran's hair, which was the thing that Sakura was burning, was singed at the tips. 'Damn!' thought Syaoran as he ran his hand through the now-cooling hair. 'She caught me unaware…'

"Oh hi Mr Mikarzhi." said Sakura politely, a bit disappointed that he had just ruined her chance of getting Syaoran back.

Mr Mikarzhi placed his hands on his hips before continuing, "How many times have I told you that I can't allow you to fight in my parlour like that?" he was telling them off like little kids, though it is true that he had a soft spot for both of them. And he was the only adult they actually listened to and obeyed.

"You guys know I run this family business…if this place burns down it would be your fault! You two…if you ever fight again, in here, you never come back again, ok? And I mean that. You hear? No ice-cream." He wavered a finger in their faces.

"Aw but Mr Mikarzhi…" whined Sakura. He always used this threat for them, no matter how many times they fought in here. Mr Mikarzhi's mouth tugged slightly on the right corner. He knew how much Sakura loved the strawberry ice-cream served from this particular parlour.

"Aw you can't be serious Mr Mikarzhi…" complained Syaoran. Mr Mikarzhi's muscle near the left corner of his mouth twitched. He also knew that Syaoran would miss the double chocolate special here.

"Fine. We're leaving." said Sakura in a defeated voice. Their 'audience' let out the breath they were holding in but the tension in the room was still there. "Let's go." Sakura snapped her fingers, causing a tiny flame to ignite and then die, thus indicating Tomoyo and Meimi to follow.

As they headed towards the door…

"Wait Kinomoto." Syaoran wasn't finished yet. Oh no…It was too good an opportunity to miss…fighting Blood Phoenix while they were both out of school? Besides, he was still mad that she had set his hair on fire.

Sakura rolled her eyes in frustration. "What now, Li?" She turned around to see Syaoran walking towards her slowly.

When he reached her he leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Let's take this outside. You know it's not finished yet."

Sakura's eyes lit up, one eyebrow raised in a graceful arch. "Is that a challenge, Li?"

"You know it Kinomoto."

"Good."

Sakura and her gang walked out, this time followed by Syaoran, Eriol and Asuka. The crowd shifted to get out of the two gang's way; people parting to create a narrow passageway to the only exit.


	2. Challenge Accepted

CCSxSt Tail. Two gangs at Tomoeda High; Sakura's and Syaoran's. Both hate each other equally, but what happens when they have to stand side by side against another school? DM ET but especially SS

Well here u go..anotha chapter in the SAME DAY!!!

Disclaimer: 'tis not mine. No characters r mine, juz the storyline...

**The Ice-cream Parlour: Challenge Accepted**

Penguin Park

"Why are we here?" Tomoyo asked Sakura nervously.

"It's a duel, okay? It's going to be fine," replied Sakura boldly.

"But what if accidents happen?"

"You know they won't."

"But what if you 'accidently' kill each other? We still have to get back by recess you know, preferably as a whole."

"Come on, Tomoyo, how many times have we done this?

Tomoyo shrugged uneasily. "...A lot of times?"

"See? It's not like it's your first duel anyway." Sakura felt restless. Tomoyo frets every time Blood Phoenix and the Dragoons have a duel. Which was often.

Sakura started charging her energy, which was going to be used for the magic.

"And Tomoyo, you're not the one fighting anyway. You're going to be the healer 'cause it's probably two on two." said Meimi, tying her long hair in a high ponytail.

"Exactly. If anything happens, you can heal us. Remember? Remember? REMEMBER?" Sakura could be a bit impatient at times. She was charging her energy and it was hard to control her hyperness at the moment.

"And we're not really going to hurt each other Tomo. It's called um, a 'friendly' battle," concluded Meimi.

"FRIENDLY? NOT likely. I'm going to SHRED that Li bastard into PIECES..." There goes Sakura again. She was still charging and her eyes glowed an awesome green.

"Friendly? You call that FRIENDLY?"

* * *

At the other side of the park

Syaoran watched the three girls while _he_ was charging his energy. Asuka was sitting on top of the monkey bars, doing sit-ups by hooking his feet under one of the bars. (Only Sakura and Syaoran charges energy because they are the only ones who control card magic)

"Are you sure you want to do this?" a troubled voice belonging to Eriol asked. Like Tomoyo, he was kind of against the idea of fighting almost every time the Dragoons and Blood Phoenix met.

"I'm sure." answered Syaoran with confidence.

"What about you Asuka?"

"Eriol, you know there's no need to be like this. In fact, you should be proud to be part of it."

Eriol sighed. "I know your parents aren't going to be happy about disfigured and mutilated sons."

"You're here to save us, right?"

"What happens if I can't? Remember you nearly fainted last time you fought from lost of blood, Asuka."

Asuka loosened his tie and took it off. "Well, that's not going to happen again, is it?"

"Accidents do happen, you know. Especially when you're playing with magic deliberately."

"ERIOL IT'S GOING TO BE JUST PEACHY. IF WE DIE, WE DIE IN THE DRAGOONS' HONOUR." Syaoran could also be hyperactive when it comes to charging energy.

Eriol's eyes were still clouded with worry. "You know, I can sense their auras. Kinomoto is getting much stronger and I can feel that Haneoka has improved a lot. You can sense it Syao, can't you?"

"Of COURSE I can. And don't you DARE mention Kinomoto AGAIN. I'll POKE THOSE GREEN EYES OUT..."

"And they call it a 'friendly' battle..." muttered Eriol.

* * *

Two from each gang stepped up forward into the middle of the playground. Around them were swing sets, slides, seesaws...It was the best place for a duel: objects to jump on, objects to hide behind, and objects to control and toss around. But after the duel, Syaoran and Sakura would use the Create card to replace the things that were damaged.

"Rules are: 1. Only allowed to use magic

2. Only allowed to fight within the boundaries, which is, this playground

3. Only allowed two contestants from each team or gang

4. Only allowed to be healed by a team's healer

5. Only allowed to finish when someone signals for surrender.

6. Not allowed to use magic before or after the duel at each other.

If any of these rules are broken the offending team or gang is immediately disqualified." read Tomoyo from a scroll of paper which had all their signatures on it.

"Get on with it Daidouji." drawled Syaoran in a bored tone. "It's not like we haven't heard of them anyway."

Tomoyo pressed her lips into a thin line. "Don't be so cocky, Li. Don't you remember you were disqualified last week for intentionally punching Sakura in the face?"

"Sure I remember. Who would forget that?" Syaoran sneered.

Sakura dug her nails into the palm of her hand and bit her lip. He could make her SO mad! 'Just you wait Li,' she thought. 'I've got something special for you today...'

"Alright, you have two minutes to get ready! Separate and then come back here!" said Tomoyo. She joined her gang, finding Sakura and Meimi in deep discussion.

"This time we'll attack from the top, okay? Remember they won last Tuesday because our magic kept missing them?" said Sakura with a fanatic gleam in her eye, which was probably from all her unused energy.

"How we gonna do that?" Meimi played with her earring, a bit edgy.

"Jump on the slides, the climbing tower, the monkey bars...I don't know...just get above them! Don't worry...I'll use the Jump card, okay? OKAY?"

Meimi blocked her ears hastily. Tomoyo sighed, seeing her best friend like this all the time was definitely unnerving. "Sakura calm down! Meimi isn't deaf you know! And besides, if you shout your plan out the Dragoons might hear you!"

Sakura darted her eyes everywhere, her fingers trembling with anticipation. "Yes, yes, Tomoyo, you're right, right, r-right..." She could feel the energy soaring through her body and waiting, at the tips of her fingers...maybe...maybe if she set something on fire...it would be better...

"Sakura, don't even think about it!" said Tomoyo as if reading her mind. "You know you're not allowed to use magic before the duel...you'll be disqualified!"

"Aw but Tomoyo..." Sakura whined. "It's like warming up or stretching before a tennis match...I need to...or else I'll injure myself or something."

"No. Magic. Un. Der. Stand?" repeated Tomoyo.

"Hey they're returning to the middle already...let's get moving!" said Meimi.

Tomoyo tensed up. 'Here we go again...'

* * *

The two gangs met in the middle of the playground, but leaving Tomoyo and Eriol at the boundaries because they weren't going to fight; they were the healers.

"So Kinomoto...waiting to get whipped?" scoffed Syaoran as they came face to face.

"You wish." she snarled in response.

"Start in THREE..." yelled Tomoyo.

"Don't cry for your daddy Kinomoto," mocked Syaoran.

"I won't."

"TWO..." continued Tomoyo.

"I'll always remember you after you die."

"Likewise."

"ONE...GO!" shouted Tomoyo at the top of her lungs.

Sakura immediately dashed on top on the monkey bars. Behind her, Meimi had leapt on to the tallest slide. Sakura grinned. Below her, Syaoran and Asuka were still in the middle of the battle-playground, and had a look of bewilderment as the girls towered over them.

'Now for a bit of fun...' Sakura thought. She signaled Meimi, who had the same mischievous look plastered on her face. Sakura aimed at Syaoran's with her finger like a gun, and a stream of fire escaped through the tip. Syaoran, sensing danger, leapt aside just in time. Sakura giggled. She shot another torrent of fire at his direction but Syaoran dodged quickly. She frowned a bit. 'Hmm...I need to practice my accuracy...'

Opposite Sakura, Meimi was also enjoying this new 'sport'. Every time she pointed at Asuka, a flash of lightning would come flying from her fingertips to her target. But she always seemed to _just _miss him. He was darting around the whole playground with electricity chasing his heels...Flash, flash, flash. Miss, miss, miss. 'Argh...he's too fast!' her mind yelled. 'Hopefully he will tire out soon...'

* * *

Meanwhile, Tomoyo looked on from the sidelines anxiously. Sure, her friends were currently 'winning', but it was hard to keep the fight up. She could feel her friends' energy draining rapidly, especially Meimi, who wasn't as strong as Sakura. 'And the Dragoons haven't even used a single ounce of energy yet...' she sighed, digging her fingernails into her face as she watched her friends.

Tearing her eyes away from the battle for a single moment, Tomoyo gazed at a certain cobalt-eyed boy who was also looking lost and worried. Eriol Hiiragizawa was wringing his hands constantly, and every once in a while, wrenching one of them up to ruffle his hair. A soft pink tint, barely visible, appeared on Tomoyo's cheeks for a split second, then vanished. 'Of all the boys...it had to be you...' she murmured sadly. She found herself staring at him, and was about to look away...but he suddenly turned his head around and saw her longing eyes...

Eriol had felt uncomfortable...he knew someone was watching him. He also knew who it was...it was Daidouji...who else would it be? Everyone else was busy! 'Why would she be staring at me?' he thought nervously. 'Do I have something on my face? God I hope not...' He quickly turned his head to see her perfect, purple eyes, and the sadness in them. They widened when she noticed him staring at back at _her_. Her own eyes held fear...she was caught! Yet those intense blue eyes never broke away from hers...

Tomoyo panicked. 'Oh my God...what should I do? What now? He's still looking at me...but he doesn't seem annoyed...is that a good sign?'

While Tomoyo was mentally battling with herself, Eriol was still observing her. 'Why did she seem sad when she looked at me? Did I do something? But that can't be...I haven't even talked to her before...And why is she still mumbling to herself? She looks so sad...should I do something? But why should I do something...it's not like I care...do I care?' he asked, making himself even more confused. And like Tomoyo, he was arguing with himself. (Have you noticed that they are rather alike? )

'Oh why didn't I look away? Stupid Tomoyo...he saw you...your eyes...your -' Tomoyo was cut off momentarily when she saw something that made her heart stop beating.

A smile. _Eriol's_ smile. He was smiling...at _her_

Yes, it was true. Eriol _had_ chosen to smile at this girl. Even though it would be against the Dragoons' rules. And what for? Just for her happiness' sake. Just for some _encouragement_. Just for...ahhh...who was he kidding? Because she looked sad. Because he cared. A teeny, weensy bit. Okay...Because he cared a lot. For some unknown reason.

And guess what?

She smiled back. A small, secret smile, as delicate as a flower, a true, genuine smile. Like the start of their delicate, genuine, but secret relationship.

* * *

"Asuka!" yelled Syaoran as the concrete dome next to him exploded. "We need a plan!"

"Well DUR!" shouted Asuka as the tree next to him got blackened by lightning.

"Go behind the blue pipe things!"

"WHAT pipe things?"

"THE DAMN CONCRETE TUNNELS YOU IDIOT" Syaoran shrieked when a litterbin beside him burst into a ball of flames. (hehe can you imagine Syaoran shrieking?)

"Oh..." The two boys quickly scrambled to the tunnels, hiding behind the three huge concrete pipes.

Asuka was all edgy and was panting heavily. "Wh-what now?"

"Well...it's just going to go on forever, until we get tired and they hit us. Or maybe they will use up their energy. Either way, it's going to last a long time."

Asuka groaned. "Long battles aren't fun...they take hours to recover from!"

"I know...that's why there's only one thing we can do...and it's only because of extreme circumstances" replied Syaoran grimly.

* * *

"Sakura dear...what _do_ you think they're doing behind the tunnels?" Meimi said to Sakura in an old English accent, with a sly expression on her face.

Sakura cocked her head to one side and responded with the same accent. "Well, I. _don't_. know. Should we find out, dear Meimi?"

"I think that _would_ be very good idea, my dear Sakura."

"Well well well...._so_ many tunnels to choose from...which one should I pick?" Sakura pointed her finger in a gun-like position.

"Inee...minee...mynee...mo..." sang Meimi softly. BANG. They both destroyed the middle pipe with fire and electricity bolts.

"Oh dear! They weren't behind that one!" Sakura said in a fake hysterical voice, still in an English accent.

"Now, now...mustn't worry, Sakura dear, there are still so many to choose from..."

Sakura sniffed loudly. "I suppose you're right, Meimi dear."

"There there...you see? There are still _two_ pipes left...you can still find them...all in good time." Meimi patted Sakura's back in an oh-so-dramatic way.

Sakura fake-brightened up. "Ready Meimi?" she called. "Inee...minee...mynee...MO!!" They blasted the left tunnel into pieces. And the boys weren't there.

"NOOOO!" wailed Sakura. "I can't believe I chose the wrong one!"

"Shh...don't cry, my dear. That only means there's one tunnel left."

Sakura grinned evilly. "You can run but you can't hide Li! Surrender you idiot! You know this duel is lost!" she yelled. "I'll give you THREE seconds to come out and surrender!"

"Crap!" cursed Syaoran under his breath. He and Asuka were still hiding behind the last tunnel.

"Don't worry...it'll work out fine." reassured Asuka, although he looked doubtful himself.

"THREE!" Sakura hollered, already dancing around in victory.

"Ready Asuka?" said Syaoran.

"TWO!"

"You bet Syao."

"ONE!"

"RUN!" BANG. The two boys ran out from the tunnels in the last second, with the concrete crashing down behind down in smithereens. They ran to the two ends of the playground, opposite each other. Then, each produced a large orb in their hands, transferring all their energy into it, which made it bigger. Syaoran's was an orb of fire; Asuka's was an orb of lightning. Sakura and Meimi were frozen on the monkey bars and the slide, apparently in shock because they thought they've already won.

"Finished Syao!" shouted Asuka from one end of the playground, his orb now the size of a beachball.

"Same here! Fire in 3, 2, 1...NOW!"

They both fired their orbs directly at each other towards the middle of the playground. Only then did Sakura realize what was happening. "Meimi! Get off the slide!"

"What?! Why?"

"No time to explain! Just get off!" But it was already too late. Another BANG. When the orbs reached each other at exactly the middle, they burst like bubbles, causing a huge explosion. Sakura, Meimi, Syaoran and Asuka were all blown back from the blast. Actually, all of the playground equipment surrounding the middle was blown away. The only figures that stood undamaged and unscratched were Eriol and Tomoyo. They knew what was happening and had used Shield.

So, the result of today's duel? Sakura and Meimi and Syaoran and Asuka were physically and magically tired, wrecked, drained, screwed-up...whatever you want to call it, because they had all used up their energy.

Tomoyo rushed over to her friends who were lying on the ground; Sakura with a large graze on her face; Meimi with a gash on her forehead. "Wow...this is a first..." mused Tomoyo as she kneeled, "this is your first draw against the Dragoons!"

"Tomoyo would you mind start healing?" groaned Sakura.

"Yeah...it's starting to sting," said Meimi with her eyes closed.

Tomoyo rubbed her own fingernail marks on her face, caused by her apparent fear when watching them. "Talk about inconsiderate..."

* * *

Eriol looked down on his friends, whose limbs were positioned in awkward angles. "You know...there should be a new rule about a draw..."

"Just shut up and heal Eriol," growled Syaoran, who also had a deep cut on his leg.

"I think I broke my arm...it hurts like hell..." moaned Asuka.

Eriol blew his hair upwards and muttered, "Selfish, self-centered humans I call my friends..."

But...before him or Tomoyo could start healing...everyone felt a chill down their spine when they sensed about thirty dark auras surrounding the playground. It was suddenly cold.


	3. Power Hungry

CCSxSt Tail. Two gangs at Tomoeda High; Sakura's and Syaoran's. Both hate each other equally, but what happens when they have to stand side by side against another school? DM ET but especially SS

Hey 4 some reason I can't c my chapter 2 yet...can u?? well hope I can c it soon...meanwhile...lookie! Another chappi! Hehheeh don't u jus love me? I love me.

Disclaimer: don't own nething.

**The Ice-cream Parlour: Power Hungry**

"So this is the famous Li Syaoran and Kinomoto Sakura, eh?" a low voice jeered. It belonged to a white blonde guy with weird red eyes, probably the leader of this so-called gang. The rest of the twenty-nine who stood behind him sniggered.

Blood Phoenix and the Dragoons were still lying or kneeling the ground, making them seem so small compared to the new group of people who were standing up.

"Speak up, oh great Li and Kinomoto," hissed the scarlet-eyed newcomer with a smug smirk on his face.

"Don't you dare order me around, scum," Sakura's eyes narrowed into thin slits. "Who do you think you are?"

"Takai Haka, leader of the Hatashi Sharks, from Hatashi High."

Asuka was confused. "There's no such thing as Hatashi High."

A girl with long black hair and piercing silver eyes spoke. "Yeah there is. The building was finished two weeks ago." She was standing next to Haka and she was clinging to his arm. Obviously his girlfriend. "And it's only about three kilometres from your precious Tomoeda High. We started school last week," she added.

"And you formed your own gang already? Now _that's_ impressive." Eriol said with sarcasm. Blood Phoenix and the Dragoons were formed in _elementary_ _school_. He knew that compared to them, the Hatashi Sharks are probably worth nothing.

"Of course." said the girl, not realizing it was sarcastic.

"Just because you're big in your school, doesn't mean you're big here." Syaoran growled, clenching his fists in anger.

"Oh but we will be." replied another girl, an over-tanned white blond, carelessly; checking her perfectly manicured two-inch nails.

Sakura elbowed herself up. "And who are you, you weird over-tanned carrot?" she snickered. The blond girl had an obvious fake tan, which was probably applied incorrectly, because she appeared more orange than light brown. Syaoran nearly laughed at Sakura's comment, but just caught himself when he realized he was just about to laugh at Sakura's joke.

The white blond look up and was clearly enraged. She was about to snap something offensive back, when she was cut off by her own leader, Haka. "Now, let's be civilized here, Haida."

Haka turned back to Sakura. "She's my twin sister, Takai Haida. Can't you tell by our eyes?" Haka's and Haida's weird red eyes were definitely the same. And plus, their white blond hair were nearly the same length, just that Haida's were slightly longer. How could they _not_ be related?

"You know, actually, it's very obvious that you're twins. I mean," giggled Meimi. "Haka and Haida look the same, because Haka looks gay and Hada looks manly." Both the Dragoons and Blood Phoenix laughed out loud. In fact, some people from the Sharks had laughed too, but they had their hands over their mouths.

Haka was furious. He death-glared Meimi but she didn't flinch. "You would wish you didn't say that later, you insignificant little ant."

"Whatever." Meimi rolled her eyes.

The girl with black hair and silver eyes broke away from Haka and walked up to Meimi. She poked at Meimi's chest with her finger and snapped angrily, "You don't know who you're messing with. Don't you dare insult my boyfriend!"

Meimi pushed her forcefully back, making her topple backwards...into the arms of Haka. "Don't. Touch. Me." hissed Meimi, blue eyes glowering.

Haka looked down with concern. "Kaito...are you alright?" The black-haired girl nodded slowly as he helped her up.

"You will pay for that." Haka said quietly. "I thought we could solve this without any arguments. But I guess I was wrong."

'Oh no...what happens if I provoked him and start a duel right now? We're all injured now...how can we fight?' Meimi thought. She stood her ground but she seemed to be lost for words; she didn't know what to do.

To her surprise, Asuka stepped in front of her, facing Haka. "Listen, I don't know what your problem is, but you must have a reason to be here. And what were you talking about...what are we going to solve?"

"Well, since Hatashi High is so close to Tomoeda High, we need to settle the boundaries."

Syaoran's eyes flared up with a raging fire. "Boundaries? Boundaries! The Dragoons own half of Tomoeda-"

"And Blood Phoenix controls the other," finished Sakura with the same fire in her eyes.

"But your two gangs are from the _same_ school," Haka explained with extreme calm.

"Does it matter? Your school is probably _tiny_. Your gang is unimportant. Besides, not many gangs have the _privilege_ of owning territories. Do you see the Jikoto Spiders from Jikoto High, about five streets away from us, having their share?" said Sakura.

"Or the Tomcats from Reichi Grammar having anything? They're not that different from you." Syaoran said, annoyed that Haka was still so composed. Tomoyo and Eriol glanced at each other. This was definitely a first. Since when was Sakura and Syaoran ever on the same side?

"No, my friend," Haka replied in a cold tone. "They _are _different from us. We have magic. They don't."

Sakura looked amused. "Yes they do. It's just that they're weak; we beat Jikoto in about five minutes."

"And the Dragoons killed the Tomcats in three," confirmed Syaoran proudly.

"Which basically means they have no _real_ magic. You know, the kind that can do damage," Haida interrupted.

"You mean, dark magic," said Eriol coolly.

Tomoyo twirled a strand of hair around her finger. "I'm sorry but we don't specialize in dark magic."

"You don't, but you specialize in _elemental_ magic; which is just as strong," explained Haka. He didn't know that Sakura and Syaoran used card magic.

"Get to your point, Takai!" growled Syaoran venomously.

Haka appeared irritated but continued smoothly, "We need to settle boundaries, which means we have to fight. Hatashi High against Tomoeda High."

Asuka looked incredulous. "Now?!"

"Of course not, you nitwit," retorted Haida, breaking her silence.

"Haida," warned Haka his sister. He turned back to Blood Phoenix and the Dragoons, who were still on the ground, unhealed. "Since you're so _pathetically_ injured now then there's no point having a duel, is there? We're going to have mercy on you," he grinned impishly, red eyes giving off a neon glow.

Haida also grinned like her brother and it was uncanny how similar they looked. "You have a few weeks until we will meet again. During that time, do whatever you can to get stronger, because," she said, examining her red nails again casually, "we won't go easy on you."

Both Blood Phoenix and the Dragoons were shocked. What THE HELL was the Sharks and what THE HELL were they going to do? And worse, what if Hatashi High actually wins? The six people on the floor felt their stomachs drop. They were all trying to process this information.

Eriol was the first to answer. "What makes you think you'll win?"

Kaito, who was still hugging Haka's arm, cackled loudly. "We won't be giving any secrets away," she said.

"But what we _will_ tell you is," Haka said, "that you probably need to think about which part of Tomoeda you want to give up."

"I rather like this park," Haida said, looking around.

"Haka...I want the ice-cream parlour!" whined Kaito, her head leaning on his shoulder, silver puppy eyes looking up at him.

"Shh...I'll wrap it up with paper and give it to you as a present," he whispered in her ear.

Syaoran and Sakura flinched when they heard this. Mr Mikarzhi's ice-cream parlour was their favourite hangout spot in the whole of Tomoeda; they were fighting over it since they were kids.

"Haka, you forgot something," Haida reminded, "You have to tell them where the fight's gonna be."

"Oh yes," Haka answered, "In the city, perhaps? No, there's no space. This park? No, I want this duel to be formal. I want the whole of Tomoeda see how useless they are. Hmm...what about..."

"Chinatown?" piped up Kaito.

"Good idea my little kite," chuckled Haka. "Chinatown it is, then."

Syaoran stood up painfully. "Chinatown it is, then," he growled, clutching the bleeding cut on his leg.

"Don't stress yourself, little wolf," Haka said coolly, "We're leaving now anyway."

"Then leave," Sakura hissed. She also stood up, blood tricking down her cheek.

Haka gave her a look of pure loathing, but decided to leave without having another argument. He signaled his gang, and one by one, they all disappeared in a grey cloud of skull-shaped smoke.

The last thing Blood Phoenix and the Dragoons saw was a pair of red eyes.

_A man with a cape laughed silently to himself, hiding behind the bushes, watching the whole scene. "It will happen soon, my children," he whispered._


	4. Club Rash

CCSxSt Tail. Two gangs at Tomoeda High; Sakura's and Syaoran's. Both hate each other equally, but what happens when they have to stand side by side against another school? DM ET but especially SS

HiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiEEEEEEEEEEe! miSs ME?? silence in the crowd...baby crying weLLz...anotha chappie 2 u guyz...esp 2 Nintendo Trash hu iz v nice 2 review all ma chapters and stories (note the word storIES...I have TWO storIES now )

njoy! I kinda lost 4 strawberri cookies, ppl, lost of inspiration 2 write fluently. I need help...lol I sound like im socially retarded, eh? Maib I am...maib I am..-.-"

Disclaimer: 'tis not mine. No characters r mine, juz the storyline...

**The Ice-cream Parlour: Club Rash**

At school

The three girls slinked back into the grounds of the school. Tomoyo had already healed them but there was still a distinct mark on Sakura's face and Meimi's forehead, which they were told, in time, would disappear. They had missed recess and their class was already into their Geography class.

Sakura walked in first, interrupting Ms Hana as she was talking about the boundaries of Europe. Tomoyo and Meimi followed in soon after.

"H-hi girls," trembled Ms Hana, "Where w-were you?"

"Around," replied Sakura, casually snapping her smoking fingers.

Ms Hana eyed them and heaved an uneven sigh. "Get to your seat girls."

They sat at the back of the classroom; barely listening to anything the brunette teacher was going on about.

Sakura was lost in her own thoughts about the Sharks; she was imagining what it would be like is Hatashi High controlled Tomoeda...no Penguin Park, no shopping at the mall, and worst of all, no Mr Mikarzhi's strawberry ice-cream.

Meimi was busy staring out the window, also looking like she was daydreaming. But Meimi was thinking about something else. Why had Asuka jumped in front of her just then? Was he defending her? Or was she just imagining it? 'Why should I care,' she thought angrily to herself. 'He's an idiot anyway.' (hehe...here's a start of something...)

A tap on Sakura's shoulder made her turn around, to find Tomoyo had written her a note. Tomoyo smiled encouragingly; she knew what Sakura is going through; after all, she was worried herself.

_Hey Saku, (pass this on to Meimi as well)_

_It's so boring in Geography...and Ms Hana's clothes looks like she got them from her fruit basket. Don't you think Ms Hana's banana-printed skirt make her look fat? You and Meimi look kinda depressed...don't worry about the Sharks now; you have a few weeks left for that! Besides...it's my job to worry, not yours! How about we go to Club Rash tonight...you guys look like you need cheering up! Let's go to my house after school...I have about a HUNDRED of outfits just for you! _

_Ciao with love,_

_Tomo_

Sakura laughed quietly as she skimmed through her friend's letter but grimaced when she read the last line.

* * *

Tomoyo's house

"HOEEEEeeee...Tomoyo I don't want to wear that!"

"Tomoyo are you kidding? That's wayyy too revealing!"

"I HATE the colour brown!"

"OuCh! You just poked me in the eye with that damn mascara!"

"Sit still or I'll paint your face black!"

"I want ONE layer of lip gloss and not TWELVE layers of lip stick!"

"Don't pull my hair up...that's too tight!"

"HOEEE! What did you do Tomoyo?"

"Told you I would paint it black if you won't sit still!"

"Hoe...I'm tired already Tomo...can we not go tonight?"

"WHAAT ARE YOU KIDDING?? I just spent two hours on your face and now you're not going?"

"Tomoyo's right, Sakura. Besides, I heard the band Black Soda is playing tonight! I soo want to go!"

* * *

Club Rash

After two hours of Tomoyo's expertise and skill, the three arrived at Club Rash on their motorbikes on high spirits. Sakura on a metallic pink, Tomoyo on a metallic purple and Meimi on a gold bike.

They parked in their reserved space and Sakura recognized three other bikes that were parked next to them. A metallic green, a metallic blue and a silver bike.

"Great," she mumbled to her friends. "The Dragoons are here."

"Doesn't matter Sakura," reassured Tomoyo, "Club Rash is so big that you probably won't see them the whole night."

"Besides, if we leave now, we will be giving in," Meimi agreed. "And BLACK SODA is playing in there so let's GO!"

"But-" Sakura had no choice as her friends linked their arms around hers and steered her in the direction of the entrance, ignoring her protests.

* * *

Bright neon lights flashed on and off automatically in the huge basement-like room. Sakura sipped her cold drink, savoring the sweetness. She was dressed in a white one-shoulder top with swirls of glitter glued on the front. Her red leather mini complemented the knee-high brown boots she wore. A single red star hung just below her throat.

Sakura stood in the corner, alone. All through the night she had refused to dance, partly because she felt that the three Dragoon auras were everywhere. 'It's not safe to let down your guard when the enemy is near,' she kept reminding herself after countless guys had asked her to join them on the dance floor.

Her gaze drifted to her friends who were dancing wildly under the lights. Meimi was clothed in a black cord boob tube and a denim mini that Tomoyo had insisted upon. Tomoyo herself had an electric blue tank and a white skirt, which matched her blue boots.

Finishing her drink, she made her way towards her friends on the dance floor, but unfortunately she never made it. Waves and waves of people pushed her effortlessly under. She tried to scream to her friends but the music was too loud. Groups of people kept blocking her away from that direction.

She ended up in the other side of the room.

And was pushed into someone.

Which was okay.

If that person wasn't Syaoran Li.

* * *

Syaoran stood against the wall unenthusiastically. He made a face when he felt three Blood Phoenix auras around the club. 'How dare you Kinomoto,' he thought. 'I thought we had a deal...but then again you said you didn't remember having one,' he mused as he recalled how pissed she was when he said her brain was the size of bird dung.

He glanced at Eriol, who was standing next to him, for a reaction. But instead of an expression of disgust appearing on Eriol's face, a flicker of eagerness danced in his eyes.

"Eriol!" yelled Syaoran in his ear over the music.

Eriol snapped out of it and yelled back, "What?!"

"Can you sense Blood Phoenix?"

"Of course!"

Syaoran looked at him suspiciously. "Then why do you look so happy?"

"Huh?" Eriol said in confusion. "I'm not...uh...happy..." (ERIOL STOP LYING...) Eriol hurriedly excused himself and disappeared into the crowd before Syaoran could ask any more questions. (Where do you think he's going?? hinthint)

"Weird Eriol..." commented Syaoran. "I need a bit more support here...where's Asuka? He said he was going for drinks...Where the HELL are my friends when I need them? And they were the ones who convinced me to come tonight..." He sighed and leant back on the wall, closing his eyes and listening to the bass of the music.

Until...

THUD. "HOE I'm so sorry...it wasn't my fault...people kept pushing..."

Syaoran, a bit dazed, absentmindedly pushed the auburn-haired girl away gently. Wait...auburn? There was only _one_ person he knew in the whole of Tomoeda that had that particular coloured hair...and she was-

"Kinomoto!"

"Argh...Li..." Sakura backed off, rubbing where Syaoran touched her on her skirt as if he had germs or something.

Syaoran looked at the girl he known as Kinomoto. She looked _different_ today. Her clothes made her look older, even pretty, perhaps. He shook his head. 'Syaoran, where are these thoughts coming from?' he thought angrily.

Sakura was also glancing at Syaoran sideways. 'Li looks different tonight,' she thought, 'More mature, if that is possible,' she smirked. 'Wait...did I just think that?'

There was an awkward silence as the two tried to hide what they were thinking inside by screwing her nose in disgust or folding his arms.

Syaoran put on his stony face. "So...Kinomoto...what are you doing here?" he tried to lower his voice into a deep growl, which wasn't really working

"Can we _please_ don't go over that deal thing again," Sakura rolled her eyes, "I'm really not in the mood for fighting right now. I'm so tired from today it's not funny."

"Whatever Kinomoto." Syaoran flopped down on the vacant lounge beside him and Sakura did the same, though the two kept as far as possible from each other.

"Did your friends drag you here?" murmured Syaoran tiredly.

"Yep," replied Sakura, eyes half-closed.

"Where they now?"

"Somewhere," she gestured to the crowd. "Yours?"

"Same."

The two continued to talk in half-sentences for the next five minutes, and to their surprise, rather enjoyed each other's company. But they would never admit it of course. It was weird how during the past few hours Sakura had been trying to avoid the Dragoons as much as possible, yet now she was talking to the one she hated most comfortably.

* * *

Meimi had ditched Tomoyo for a drink at the bar but Sakura seemed to have disappeared. "Sakura! Saku! SAKURAa!" screamed Tomoyo frantically. But her efforts were proved useless, especially when annoyed people stopped dancing and turned around to look at her.

"Sakura...oh Sakura...I hope nothing happened to you..." she cried, a million of dangerous possibilities flashing in her head, her eyes beginning to tear up.

"Will her fair lady care to tell me what her trouble is?"

A voice behind her asked. Tomoyo stopped and a shiver when down her spine. She could recognize that voice anywhere.

"Hiiragizawa," she breathed out, turning around.

"At your service," Eriol on the outside was cool, calm and collected but the inside he was a nervous wreck. He knew what he was doing was against the Dragoons' rules but this Daidouji girl was drawing him in like a magnet.

"Um...I've lost Sakura," she said in a small voice.

"Really? Do you want me to help you find her?" He smiled the same genuine smile he gave to her earlier that day and she felt her heart flutter.

"Uh...only if you want to..."

"Of course." He held his arm out and she shyly let him lead the way.

* * *

**Like it? Love it? Realli, realli, hate it? Well...review! rememba...I NEED HELP...it v nice if u could tell me wats gonna happen! Coz unlike strawberry cookies (which, tha stori iz kinda all figured out...but I haf 2 rite it up in an artistic, highly creative, original way lol) the icecream parlour iz onli a brief storyline... well tats all from me **

**scarletskies**


	5. A Proposal

CCSxSt Tail. Two gangs at Tomoeda High; Sakura's and Syaoran's. Both hate each other equally, but what happens when they have to stand side by side against another school? DM ET but especially SS

Hey! isN't it EXCITING?? I updated!! (yes it's a big deal 4 me!) Enjoy...soz I not updating strawberry cookies jus yet..kinda stuc -.- well im doing ma best ok?? I a noobi author!! (yes, tat IZ a suitable xcuse!)

Disclaimer: 'tis not mine. No characters r mine, juz the storyline...

**The Ice-cream Parlour: A Proposal **

Still at Club Rash

At the bar, a certain green-haired male was complaining about the service at the club. Asuka had been waiting for almost ten minutes now and was not very happy. 'Damn bartenders,' he thought. 'a glass of Coke does not take that long to prepare, even if it has shaved ice...Syaoran is gonna _kill_ me for sure...'

He observed his surroundings. Tonight the club was full. People hang around the edges of the room, some in the middle, some on the stairs, people on the second story, people at this stupid bar that takes ages for an order...Asuka counted the number of people waiting around the bar. 'Great...' he moaned as he counted about eight people or so. 'Eight people to serve...eight different drinks...eight-' he stopped muttering when his eyes fell on a girl with long strawberry blonde hair. He gritted his teeth. 'Haneoka...'

Meimi leaned against counter, feeling the cold metal on her exposed stomach. 'Those stupid bartenders are certainly taking their time,' she thought fuming, drumming her fingernails on the surface. She was so distracted she didn't notice someone watching...and someone coming towards her...

'Hmm...should I use magic now...' Asuka pondered over this. He eyed the girl wearily, and took a step towards her. On one hand, it seemed like a good idea. Haneoka always argued with him at school and he seldom won these verbal battles. It was soo tempting to get her back...But on the other hand, if he did anything 'rash' without Syaoran's permission, Syaoran would personally strangle him to death. But...Haneoka...was there...vulnerable...looking so defenseless...looking so naïve...so innocent...so adorable...

'WAIT A MOMENT,' Asuka yelled at his mental self. 'Where did THAT come from?'

'I know something you don't...' a sing-song voice chanted in his brain. (hehe ooooo a start of something!)

"Ahh shut up," he said to himself. He hadn't realized he had walked over to Meimi already during the time he was arguing with himself.

Meimi whipped around when she heard someone whisper "Ahhh shut up" in her ear. The voice had freaked her out and she had planned to give that person a good bashing. What she hadn't expected was a pair of sea green eyes bearing down on her. 'Argh...stupid Asuka...does he have to be EVERYWHERE I go?' she thought crossly. But at the mention of his name, she recalled how he had defended her in front of the Sharks that afternoon, and a light tint streaked across her cheeks.

Asuka looked down at the girl who was beginning to squirm. A pink stain was visible but he assumed it was probably from anger because he was here. Keeping as cool as possible, he put his hands in his back jean pockets to prevent them from fidgeting nervously. God he didn't even know why he was nervous now...he saw her everyday at school but it wasn't like this...

"Whyyouherewhatareyoudoing?" they both blurted out at the same time. They then gave each other a full-force glare before saying, "Whydoyouhavetobeeverywhere?"

Meimi squeezed her eyes closed in frustration and she held up a hand to stop Asuka saying anything again. "Just, shut up for a sec, alright?!" Asuka, to her surprise, did shut up.

"Can we, like, not say anything, turn around and walk to opposite ends of the room?" she said. "I am totally wasted and I want to enjoy my time here tonight...which doesn't involve you."

"Oh?" he said, "Of COURSE we can...not. You, young lady," he grabbed her wrist, "are coming with me." 'Syaoran would know what to do...' he thought, leading her towards Syaoran.

"Get off me!" Meimi struggled, but with no luck. His grip on her only tightened. "Will you stop bullying me?!" she was causing quite a scene as she shrieked. Asuka grimaced at the sound of her shrill yelling but fought his way through the crowd.

* * *

"Oh my god did you hear that?" said Tomoyo fearfully, hearing her friend's cries for help. "Meimi's in trouble!" She clutched onto Eriol's arm as they followed the sound of Meimi's screaming.

* * *

"Syaoran. SYAORAN?" shouted Asuka triumphantly when he reached lounge where Syaoran was. "I present to thee, the Miss Haneoka, bitch of the century!" He pushed Meimi forward, causing her to topple on her knees.

"Meimi? You alright?" came Sakura's anxious voice. "Did he do anything to you?" Meimi slowly shook her head, astounded at the fact that Sakura was sitting _next_ _to Li_.

"You...her...what?!" Asuka's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. He pointed an accusing finger at Syaoran. But before he could say anything he, too was pushed forward...by Eriol, with a worried Tomoyo on his arm.

"Uh, sorry there, Asuka..." Eriol helped him up uneasily. Asuka looked at him then looked at Tomoyo. Then he pointed to Tomoyo's hand on Eriol's arm. "You...her...WHAT?!" he yelled. "Am I the only SANE here?!"

"Listen buddy," Eriol said calmly, "You had _your_ hand on Haneoka's arm...does that mean anything? I found Daidouji and only planned to give her to Syaoran to deal with...which was what you were doing with Haneoka, unless I'm mistaken."

"What?! Me and Haneoka weren't doing anything...wait...what are you implying?" Asuka's face grew hot.

Sakura stood up and sighed. "Alright, break it up guys..." she said, standing in the middle of them. "Thank god you are all here! We were planning to find all you guys later but I guess this worked out perfectly," she exclaimed, clapping her hands.

"We?" inquired Meimi, who was still having an eye-locking battle with Asuka.

"Yes, we. Me and Syaoran. We were discussing-"

Tomoyo burst into laughter. "You were discussing something? Together?"

"Yes. Together." said Sakura, "Why is that so funny?"

"Oh, because you and Syaoran wouldn't have even stood five metres from each other unless it was for a duel," said Tomoyo. "And in case you haven't realized it, you haven't spoken to each other in a civil way in about a decade."

"Well, everything's changed now, Daidouji," Syaoran growled. "For once we, yes we, have to set aside our differences, because there is a bigger problem ahead."

"The Hatashi Sharks," said Eriol and nodded in understanding. Tomoyo put on a straight face.

"To put it simply," Sakura said, "we have to get along with each other, ok?" She looked around at each of them before continuing, "And we have to co-operate to defeat Hatashi."

"What?!" said Asuka. He seemed to be saying that word often tonight.

"Combined strength is better than individual strength, Asuka," explained Syaoran. "But that doesn't mean I'm liking the idea much either..."

"If we join gangs then we have a much better chance of winning because dark magic is more powerful than any of our elemental magic," reasoned Sakura. "Which is why, I, the leader of Blood Phoenix, propose that we join together."

"What?!" said Meimi. Both she and Asuka had broken eye contact and were staring at their leaders in disbelief.

"I think it is a good idea," Eriol spoke up. Unknown to the others, he gave Tomoyo's hand a squeeze.

Tomoyo hide a blush. "Yeah, I think it'll work..." she secretly gave Eriol a nudge.

"WHAT?!" both Meimi and Asuka turned to stare at them.

"What do you say, Asuka?" said Syaoran. "Before I accept I need everyone in my gang to agree."

"Come on Meimi...it wouldn't be that bad...I promise we could break this off straight after the fight at Chinatown," pleaded Sakura, "but right now, as you see, we're desperate."

Both Meimi and Asuka glared at each other "Fine..." they both sighed in defeat.

* * *

**Love u guyz! keep reviewing, k?? **

**scarletskies**


	6. A New Union is Born

CCSxSt Tail. Two gangs at Tomoeda High; Sakura's and Syaoran's. Both hate each other equally, but what happens when they have to stand side by side against another school? DM ET but especially SS

HiEe! Okok sorry about tha longgggggggggggggggggg gap between updates but im doing my best! Soz bout strawberry cookies as well..i working v hard on tat one..I PROMISE PLZ DON'T KILL ME -.-;;

Disclaimer: 'tis not mine. No characters r mine, juz the storyline...

**The Ice-cream Parlour: A New Union is Born **

"Alright then," Syaoran said grimly. "We'll need to start the procedures...anyone got a clean pocket knife or switchblade of some sort?"

"Right here," Asuka replied, producing a silver switchblade.

"I'll go get some wine from the bar," said Eriol, leaving the group.

"I think I got some good paper and a pen in my handbag," Tomoyo said rummaging through her bag.

"Got anything small and sharp?" Syaoran said.

"Here, use my hairpin," offered Sakura. "Are you sure?" Syaoran looked doubtfully at the glittery and jeweled hairpin in his hands. "Looks expensive..."

"Doesn't matter," Sakura grinned, "it's Tomoyo's."

"Okay...what about a match or firelighter?"

This time, nobody answered him. Meimi got up. "I'll be back," she said. Syaoran stared after her, confused. "She's gone to steal one," Sakura told him. "Don't worry, she's very quick and agile...she can steal anything!" A few minutes later Meimi returned, flicking a firelighter with a wicked smile. "Boys are such suckers," she laughed, but looked pointedly at Asuka.

Asuka was about to retort when Syaoran stopped him. "Don't," he said quietly. "You're gonna be in the same gang soon...better get used to it." Asuka crumpled back into a heap on the lounge chairs.

Soon Eriol returned to their little corner with a glass of white wine: white for purity in the honest bond that they'll be sharing soon. He placed it in the middle of the table and joined the circle of people surrounding the table.

"Tomoyo, is it ready yet?" asked Syaoran.

Tomoyo held up the slip of paper she had been writing on and also placed it in the middle of the table, next to the wine. It read:

_On this day, I, Sakura Kinomoto, Leader of Blood Phoenix, proposes a union with the Dragoons._

_On this day, I, Syaoran Li, Leader of the Dragoons, accepts your proposal. _

_From this day forward, Blood Phoenix and the Dragoons will share their pains and achievements, victories and downfalls. We will fight side by side to defend our honour and our territory. We will come to aid when each other is harmed or provoked, and we will fight until we have fallen. _

_Thus, a new union is born. _

_Signed, _

_Signatures._

"Daidouji, did you have to make it so...formal...and cliché?" Syaoran said after reading it aloud to the group.

Eriol laughed lightly. "Well at least the easy part's done. The next part...who would like to go first?" he had the switchblade in the palm of this hand but nobody wanted to take it. The metal of the blade caught the flashing neon lights and it glittered dangerously.

"I'll do it," someone said bravely. Sakura got up from her seat and took the blade from his hand.

"Wait..." Syaoran called gruffly. "I'll do it."

"Fine," said Sakura, "but you can do it after me."

"No...I want to do it first!" Syaoran was ready to snatch that thing from her hands.

"Why?! I volunteered first!" she said, dodging his attempts.

"Because...because..." Because it wasn't right for girls to get hurt...well, hurt first anyway...

"Ladies first, right?" she continued.

"Oh my god...I can't _believe_ you're arguing about this! For me, I would rather be last!" Tomoyo rolled her eyes. Syaoran swallowed what he was going to say because he knew Tomoyo was right.

When getting no further response from him, Sakura positioned her left hand on top of the glass of wine and opened her palm. Using her right hand, she placed the blade against her open hand. The cold silver on her skin made her shiver. She also shivered because she was scared. It's not everyday that you had to slit your own hand...

Everybody had their eyes fixed on her hands. Syaoran watched her every move and sensed her fear. Her right hand was shaking slightly and he could hear her breathing quicken. Sakura raised her right hand, ready to bring it the blade down.

Syaoran jumped up and quickly seized the blade and to Sakura's and everyone's astonishment, cut his hand and let the blood ooze and trickle down his fingers into the wine. The white wine mixed with the blood and darkened. The drops of his blood seemingly dissolved with tendrils of red snaking and misting up the liquid in the glass.

Sakura gasped angrily. "Li! I can't believe you just did that!" She hurriedly snatched the blade off him and unlike a moment ago, didn't hesitate when she sliced the sharp tool across her palm. Syaoran observed her as she let her blood drop into the glass, and was surprised that she didn't wince at the pain, considering how she was scared before. Sakura saw him looking at her and gave him a self-satisfied "huh!" before returning to the circle with her nose in the air.

"I _still_ can't believe you're _still_ arguing about this!" Tomoyo said. She left her position by Eriol and closed her fingers around the knife, biting her quivering lip and momentarily closing her eyes before she, too, created a gash in her palm. Adding her blood to the wine, she offered the blade to the remaining three.

Eriol was still stunned that Tomoyo had got that over and done with so quickly. He was still staring at her hands, how the crimson liquid was staining her perfect, white skin...Eriol shook his head clear when Tomoyo gave him the blade with a small smile. Apparently Meimi and Asuka were still reluctant about this alliance. Eriol held a breath in and sliced a deep cut on his hand and included his own blood. The mixture in the glass had now swirled into a dark evil red. Eriol turned to sit back next to Tomoyo. She was bandaging Syaoran's, Sakura's and her own hand with...ribbon?

"Tomoyo _always_ has ribbon in her handbag..." explained Sakura, laughing, seeing Eriol's 'what-the?' look.

"Of course I do," Tomoyo said, busily tying a nice green bow on Syaoran's hand, "I'm usually the one who has to fix up Sakura's or Meimi's hair after clubbing...or partying...or swimming...or ice-cream eating..." Eriol sweatdropped.

Syaoran, examining his newly bandaged hand, looked over to the remaining two who _still_ haven't done it yet. "Come on, Asuka buddy," he said, "as Kinomoto said before, we can break this uh, alliance, straight after Chinatown."

"Yeah, Meimi. Just get it over and done with," called Sakura, unable to move her arm because Tomoyo was tying a red ribbon round her hand, "It's not that bad, I promise."

"Well, Haneoka?" Asuka said, staring pointedly at the knife.

"Well? Well what?" Meimi said, irritated.

"Well," Asuka said, taking the knife off the table. He gripped the handle and taunted, "Last one to cut their hand is..." he was about to cut his palm when Meimi, with her agile reflexes, grabbed it off him and ran it through her hand. She stuck her tongue out triumphantly. "Is a rotten egg," she finished his sentence. The others laughed at the two as she let her blood dribble into the glass.

Asuka stared at her in shock, and then quickly recovered. "Pfft," he made a sound of annoyance. "Bitch." Meimi blew him an imaginary kiss with her uncut hand. "Love you too, m' dear." she said sarcastically in the same English accent she used earlier that day. Asuka ignored her show of unrealistic affection and he included his own blood into the wine, which was now almost a red black.

Once everybody's hand had been wrapped in ribbon, thanks to Tomoyo, they returned to their former circle. "Okay," Sakura broke the silence. "Now we have to sign the contract..." Holding her hairpin up, she said, "Who was the first one to add their blood to the glass? Oh yeah, I remember," she looked at Syaoran, answering her own question, "how could I forget?" she said huffily.

Syaoran smirked and got up, taking the hair pin from her hands. He dipped it into the wine-blood mixture and very carefully, used it like ink to sign on the dotted line. Sakura followed after, then Tomoyo, Eriol, Meimi, and lastly Asuka.

"Okay," Syaoran said after Asuka finished his signature. He snapped his fingers with his undamaged hand. "Mirror," he said inaudibly, summoning the card. The others watched him use the Mirror card to make two other copies of the contract with all their fresh signatures on it.

Tomoyo took one of the copied versions and placed it in her bag while Eriol took the other, folded and pocketed it. The original contract was still on the table. Syaoran rolled it up and dropped it into the wine glass, soaking an end of it into the liquid. "Kinomoto," he said politely, "would you like to do the honours?" Tomoyo felt her left eye twitch. She still wasn't used to them two talking so...nicely to each other. Eriol noticed and gave a quiet chuckle.

"Of course," Sakura replied, just as politely. She snapped her fingers and a flame ignited inside the wine glass, burning the piece of paper slowly. Strangely, the whole glass hadn't burst into flames. "Why do we have to copy then burn it?" Meimi asked Sakura softly, confused. "It's not safe to have an original document left lying around," Sakura told her, "because we used a magic form of bonding, if another magical being finds this original contract they could use this bond to harm us. It's best to just have a copied version as evidence of our alliance."

Everyone sat in silence after that. Two of them were tense about this new union; two of them were content; and two of them were still in shock about it.

And so, as the music and beat circled around them, and the surrounding people continued to dance, in that little corner of the club, six teenagers sat back, watching the small fire burn inside the glass...

...until the flame died out

_Thus, a new union is born._

* * *

**R&R thnku **

**scarletskies**


	7. Looking Out For You

CCSxSt Tail. Two gangs at Tomoeda High; Sakura's and Syaoran's. Both hate each other equally, but what happens when they have to stand side by side against another school? DM ET but especially SS

Hey sorri for long updates...but im doing my best! As for strawberry cookies...that's coming along. Thanks to all reviewers u guyz r tha best !!

Disclaimer: 'tis not mine. No characters r mine, juz the storyline...

**The Ice-cream Parlour: Looking Out For You**

school

"YOU IDIOTIC RETARDED ASSHOLE!"

"SHUTUP BITCH!"

"YOU SHUTUP BASTARD!"

"DUMBASS BLONDE GO EAT SOME SHIT!"

It was a usual morning at Tomoeda High, with Meimi and Asuka at each others' throats. Nothing had changed much since the gangs joined together last night and it was no different with these two.

"BLONDE? YOU CAN'T TALK YOU GRASS HEADED LOSER!"

Syaoran had to wrestle Asuka back down to his seat. It was lucky that Asuka's and Meimi's arranged desks were at the very opposite seats in the back row or else Asuka would've pounced on her. "Remember Asuka, you're in the same gang," Syaoran reminded him, "same gang. Repeat after me," he instructed, "same gang." "Same gang," Asuka growled, panting heavily, "same gang..."

"Meimi," Tomoyo said calmly. "That's quite enough for today. You're in the same gang now!" She and Sakura had their arms wide outstretched to block Meimi's path. "Like that's gonna stop me," Meimi gritted her teeth.

"Meimi," Sakura warned.

Meimi relaxed slightly and sat on her desk. She looked the other way in disappointment. "Whatever."

The other students in the classroom resumed talking quietly after that little scene. Quietly. Both Blood Phoenix and Dragoons hated anyone who talked as loud as them. Once a boy, Akai, had joked and laughed a bit too loudly for Sakura's liking and she used Silence on him. The poor guy had been opening and closing his mouth like a fish with no sound coming out, for a whole day.

Soon the young teacher arrived at class. 20 year old Ms Lai stumbled into the room, her hair disheveled and clothes crumpled, thick glasses askew and papers and books slipping out of the huge pile she was holding. She had been cleaning up at the toilets for the whole day of yesterday and even had to stay overnight. Tomoyo felt a twinge of guilt when looking at her but it quickly faded away. Ms Lai was not a nice teacher; she gave detentions for any reason, she set assignments with short due dates, she yelled at the slightest noise in class, and she picked on students. Everyone in the class hated her; to sum up, Ms Lai was a bitch.

Ms Lai dropped her books onto her desk with a loud thud and composed herself, watching the students scramble to their seats. Blood Phoenix and the Dragoons were already sitting at the back calmly and this pissed Ms Lai off. She knew they were the ones who _somehow_ flooded the toilets yesterday; her reason: because they were always the ones that did.

Her deep purple eyes scanned the last row of desks with contempt. Asuka, on the left end of the row of desks, was gripping onto the edges of the wooden desk, tense. Next to him, was Eriol, who had both arms on the desk, hands clasped together, looking suave and thoughtful? Meimi, on the far right in the same row, was staring out the window with a steely determined-to-stay-calm gaze, her hand absentmindedly brushing back a strand of hair. Next to Meimi was Tomoyo, looking serenely beautiful with her legs elegantly crossed and head resting on her hand. And in the middle of these four, were Syaoran and Sakura. They were seated together because they were forced to. Ms Lai, knowing of their deep hatred for each other, assigned their permanent seats purely for her amusement.

Ms Lai fixed her gaze on Sakura, who was now twirling her pen, flicking it artistically into several stunts. She seemed oblivious to the poisoning looks Ms Lai sent her. Ms Lai tried to scrutinize Sakura, but could not find anything to pick on her about. _Oh how she hated Sakura Kinomoto._ Sakura Kinomoto was flawless: everything she was not. Even at her young age, Sakura was smarter, wiser, and more powerful than her. Ms Lai, with her fake air of superiority and intelligence that fooled most students, could not fool her. Sakura, at 16, was prettier and more athletic than she ever could be, and she could have had boys running after her if she had not beaten them off with a stick, literally. Ms Lai was the type of person, when she was in high school, the stereotypical nerd, invisible, with her huge glasses slipping off her nose and her bony frame easily blown away by the wind. Ms Lai was the type of person who loathed the beautiful and popular girls then, and she loathed them now; and the one she hated most, was Sakura Kinomoto.

Sakura tried not to smile, but the corners of her mouth curled upwards involuntarily. Ms Lai was 'examining' her again, as Tomoyo calls it. She really thought that it was stupid: Ms Lai was stupid. She would have used some form of magic to stop this nonsense ages ago but something about Ms Lai was different. Sakura had a gut feeling that she wasn't 'normal'...she didn't have an aura but she looked like she possessed a certain power...and energy...like she was a ticking bomb waiting to go off any moment. Not that Sakura was scared...she just had to refrain herself from doing anything drastic, just in case.

Sakura gave up twirling her pen and instead leant back on her chair. "Stupid Ms Lai," she said under her breath, still feeling Ms Lai's eyes on her.

"What was that, Miss Kinomoto?" inquired a commanding voice. Nobody turned around. They were all used to this. Ms Lai loved picking on Sakura. Sakura had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. "Nothing, Miss," she replied sweetly with a mega watt smile. Ms Lai gave an angry 'tche' sound and turned to write something on the board.

"Stupid, stupid Ms Lai," Sakura grumbled. Being so powerful, yet she could not do anything about this lame-ass teacher. A finger in her right hand twitched. It was beginning to feel warm at the tip...

"Don't you dare," said a voice quietly. Sakura turned to look at the person on her right. She never looked this side; because it was the side Syaoran was sitting. She usually only talked to Tomoyo, on her left. "Don't," he repeated, watching her itching fingers.

"Why do you care?" she whispered curiously back.

Syaoran glanced at Ms Lai's direction before continuing, "Don't get pissed, Kinomoto. That's exactly what she wants. You're falling into her trap," he said composedly.

"I said," she gritted her teeth, furious that he was telling her how to behave, "why do you care?"

"I don't," he said nonchalantly. "But you're in my gang now, and gang members have to look out for each other."

Sakura retorted, "What do you mean YOUR gang?? It's OUR gang...And I don't NEED your damn 'looking out for each other' shit! I can look after myself just fine-"

"Look Kinomoto," he cut her off smoothly. "We need to set a good example to the others in, fine, OUR gang," he nodded towards Meimi and Asuka. "So just shut up and listen to me already."

Sakura bit her tongue and closed her mouth a little reluctantly. He had a point.

"So first things first...we need to sort out a new gang name."

"Do we really have to go this far?" she groaned. "We don't need..."

"Yes we do. Now what do you think is a good name?"

"I don't WANT to THINK about it, okay?"

"Miss Kinomoto! Mr Li!" a sharp sound startled their ears. They both looked up to see Ms Lai's purple eyes ablaze. "Stop talking to each other and pay attention!" At this, the rest of the class's ears perked up and they all swiveled in their chairs to look at the back row. Did they just hear right? Kinomoto and Li...were talking _to each other_? Does that mean...does that mean they weren't in rival gangs anymore? What was going on?

"Yeah, whatever."

"Did you just talk back to me, Mr Li?"

"Course not, Miss. I said, 'yeah, whatever'."

"So it's confirmed. You did talk back."

Sakura raised her hand and stood up in confusion. "What do you mean? He didn't talk back...he just said 'yeah, whatever'. You're not making sense, Miss."

"Miss Kinomoto! Mind your manners and don't correct me!" Ms Lai hissed angrily. "You two have been wasting my time! I should punish both of you accordingly! In fact, detention for both of you!" The rest of the students didn't know what to think. Kinomoto and Li were talking to each other...and Kinomoto was defending him? And now, she received a detention _because of him_?

Sakura sat back down in annoyance. "Detention, huh? Bite me, bitch," she muttered. Syaoran stared at her. "You didn't need to do that, you know."

She shrugged. "Just looking out for ya, I guess," she said with a hint of a smile.

* * *

**Hey just wanted to tell you guyz...I just realized that this is going to be a very, very long story...so only read if ur prepared for that, I guess. Maib this message will scare everyone away 0.0" but I just wanted to tell u coz in the future u mite b all asking me to finish it quickly...and I wont b able to do that. If you really want to noe...I still have a long, long, long, longggggggggggg way to go with this one. And I think the same applies for strawberry cookies. Hopefully u will all stick with me...**

**-.- wishful thinking?**

**scarletskies**


	8. Plan Backfired

CCSxSt Tail. Two gangs at Tomoeda High; Sakura's and Syaoran's. Both hate each other equally, but what happens when they have to stand side by side against another school? DM ET but especially SS

Hey back again! This time with a longer chapter...sorry if they're a little short but I'm not used to writing so much!

Thanks to: Tinaptran Illusion Dragon Miss Blossom Lonely Magician Mimiluv cleo2rox...

and as for sTaR zZz: I always thought sakura had red hair and green eyes! Doesn't she have red hair?? Well I dno...if u don't like it I sppose u don't have to read it.

Disclaimer: 'tis not mine. No characters r mine, juz the storyline...

**The Ice-cream Parlour: Plan Backfired **

"Now," said Ms Lai, "Back to what I was saying, before we were so rudely interrupted by Miss Kinomoto and Mr Li." Most students began to switch off again.

"If the x-intercept is -2, then the y-intercept has to be 5. Are you all following?" Few sleepy mumbles of 'yes' and 'uh huh' were heard. Someone snored loudly and Ms Lai noticed this. "Class!" she screeched in annoyance, piercing through the silence. Everyone snapped back into motion and sat up straight.

"If you all don't listen right NOW, I won't give you the details for tonight's Masquerade!" she threatened.

People sat straighter.

"Wha-?"

"What Masquerade?"

"Since when? When did YOU know about it, Miss?"

"Do the other classes know?"

"Miss, don't tell us you've been keeping this from us..."

"That's right," Ms Lai replied smugly. "I have. But now that you know, let us get back to our Maths..."

People were standing up now.

"That's not fair, Miss!"

"Oh my god! Tonight? I have nothing to wear!" the girls shrieked.

"What's Masquerade anyway? What are we supposed to do?" yelled some of the dumb ones.

Ms Lai looked around, pleased with herself. She knew this would cause a stir. But when she saw that the back row was still sitting cool as ever, she fumed silently.

"Miss! Can you please, please, at least tell us when it starts?" begged some girls. They were already fretting about how to do their hair, makeup, dates, dancing...

"Yeah Miss!"

"I can't believe she did this..."

"SO not fair!"

"Oh my god, I have volleyball training after school...I won't get ready in time!"

People were out of their seats, discussing loudly and shouting. They were getting angrier and angrier, slamming their fists onto the table. The class was almost getting out of hand...and what could Ms Lai do? Nothing. Her pretense of authority failed to work. Ms Lai shook her head as the voices rang in her head, in hope to clear it out. She had not imagined it like this...she was supposed to feed off their confusion and pain, but right now, she wasn't satisfied at all.

"Masquerade? I bet all the other classes knew ages ago, and they probably all have really cool costumes since they had heaps of time to prepare."

"Why didn't she tell us earlier anyway? Is this some kind of punishment?"

"We didn't do anything wrong did we? Nobody has been in serious trouble last week..."

"I'm gonna go to see the principal at recess..."

"Yeah same...Ms Lai...what a bi-"

"ALRIGHT!" Ms Lai suddenly screamed, wisps of hair flying in different directions. The whole room fell silent at once. "SIT DOWN, ALL OF YOU!" Control. She needed to show control. The room of people hastily sat.

"Alright..." she repeated, panting because of the amount of energy she had used to scream, "I'll write the details on the board. And _I'll _go to the principal at recess to have a chat with him at recess," she said. Secretly, she told them this because if her students _did_ go to complain to the principal, she would be at fault: she had been notified about the Masquerade Ball since last month. Her plan would backfire.

But the students knew better. Chiharu Mihara put her hand up. "Why don't we go now?" she said.

"Yeah," chorused the whole class. "Now."

"W-We?" Ms Lai said. 'Damn,' she thought, 'why did my voice tremble just then? A sign of weakness!'

Chiharu and Takashi Yamazaki both stood up; they knew what they had to do. Being the form captains of the class, and for the class's wellbeing, they had a duty to perform. "What are you doing?" demanded Ms Lai. "Get back to your seats!" she said furiously.

"_We_'re going to see the principal with you. Now." they both said robotically. Chiharu grabbed Ms Lai's right arm while Takashi took her left. "What are you DOING?" Ms Lai screamed. "Class! The rest of you! Help me!" The whole class stared blankly back, right through her, as if she didn't exist, as if this wasn't happening at all. "You're breaking some serious rules here! I can get you suspended, expelled, even!" Ms Lai's feeble struggling did no good: her arms were firmly pinned to her sides. 'No!' she thought. 'This isn't happening!' Her plan...everything was coming undone... They marched her out of the door and down the hallway; disappearing around the corner, her protests fading away.

A sweet silence after that.

"SO," started Meimi turning to Tomoyo, unruffled and her voice smooth. "Masquerade, huh?"

"I KNOW!" Tomoyo's high pitched squeal echoed the room, "I can design all these CUTE OUTFITS for ya!" she said with stars in her eyes.

The other people in the class listened in suspiciously. The Masquerade was tonight and she's going to make THREE (Sakura's, Meimi's and her own) costumes by then? Was she a freak or just terribly skilled? But there was no denying that Daidouji's clothes-making talent...for every year's dance, social, or ball, Meimi, Sakura and Tomoyo have been turning up in amazing creations, them three winning best-dressed every time. But what the other students didn't know was that Tomoyo used magic. Yes, she does have remarkable talent with the sewing machine but after years of experience, she found out magic beats the sewing machine in speed and perfection by tenfold. What Tomoyo did was draw and design their clothes, and Sakura would use the Create card to make the drawings real. Easy. Stitching, sizes, seams, materials, colours: perfect.

"What the hell are you all doing?" said Sakura angrily when she saw them eavesdropping. Everyone hastily stopped listening and pretended to be busy: putting stuff back into their pencilcase, fixing their hair, looking out the window, concentrating on a blank page. The wrath of Kinomoto was something they don't want to inflict upon themselves.

"Anyhoo..." said Tomoyo, after people darted away. "Back to those CUTE OUTFITS..."

"Don't think about the ball yet," Sakura said, "Tomo, Mei, we have to think of a name for our new gang."

"Why?" said Meimi. "I thought this union wasn't serious."

"Well, it isn't...but Li said..."

Tomoyo raised her eyebrows. "Is that what you and Li were talking about before? Since when did you start listening to him?"

"I HAVEN"T started," defended Sakura, "I thought it was a crap idea too. But as I thought more about it, we really do need a new name. Because that way, it'll be more official and people will recognize that we have joined together properly. They not only need to fear Blood Phoenix and the Dragoons, but the new gang we have created."

Tomoyo nodded while Meimi only grumbled.

"So," Sakura said, "You guys got any ideas?"

"No...yes..." said Tomoyo.

Meimi and Sakura turned to look at her questioningly.

"Sakura will look sooo good in green and Meimi will look soooooo cute in glittery organza!"

Sakura sweatdropped. "Tomoyo, be serious. Try not to think about clothes for a millisecond. The gang name is more important."

"Yes, you're right," Tomoyo exhaled. "But so is what we are wearing tonight..." she said under her breath.

"Meimi?" said Sakura. "Can you think of anything?"

"Not at the moment. My head is stuffed full with the Masquerade Ball. I'm excited about tonight too," Meimi admitted.

Sakura sighed as she leaned on her chair. "I guess we'll just have to think about the name later then."

* * *

"Man...do we have to go to the Masquerade?" Asuka asked Syaoran. "Every year it's the same...stupid music, little food, not-even-spiked drinks...boring."

Syaoran frowned. "I know...but we need to attend tonight's one. I'm planning to 'unveil' the new gang to Tomoeda High...meaning, the whole of Tomoeda. But I need to speak to Kinomoto first to see if she agrees...and, we need to decide on a new gang name."

"Since when did you have to ask Kinomoto for permission?"

"Well, we are in the same gang now, Asuka...no point in denying the fact."

"Stop using the word 'we'...it freaks me out," shuddered Asuka.

Eriol smiled a bit. "Asuka...just go with it. Go with the flow...as they say."

"Yeah, yeah," Asuka murmured. "So Syao, what the hell are we supposed to wear tonight? I mean...it's a costume party kinda thing isn't it?"

"I don't know actually...Just dress appropriately...you'll be representing the new face of our gang tonight."

"You know what? I don't trust Asuka to dress properly for this," Eriol teased his friend. "His dress sense AND sense of creativity is completely off."

"Fuck you," Asuka said as he lightly punched Eriol on the arm.

Syaoran grinned.

"And that is why, my friends," Eriol told them, taking out a leaflet of paper, "I have already drawn some suitable designs for tonight," showing them rough sketches of clothing that he had drawn when the class was complaining to Ms Lai.

"Fuck man...are you gay?" Asuka said as he and Syaoran scanned over the drawings.

Eriol rolled his eyes. "Just coz they're good..."

"Yeah, they are," Syaoran agreed. "These should be fine," he said, handing back the sheet of paper. "But how are _you_ gonna make them? Three costumes in an afternoon?"

"Magic," Eriol said simply. "Just come over to my house after school."

* * *

The door swung opened and the chitchatting class held its breath. In walked Ms Lai, looking severely grumpy but also looking like she was swallowing the rage she was feeling. She said nothing; her mouth was closed into a thin line. Her heels clicked on the polished floor as she walked over to the blackboard. Picking up a piece of chalk, she, a little unwillingly, wrote:

_Masquerade Ball (this year's school dance, whole school attendance)_

_Held in the Main Hall. _

_8:00pm till late. Therefore, school tomorrow will start at 10:30am._

_Entry only permitted to those in full costume and masks. _

The students watched her heave a sigh, shoulders sagging, and she finally turned around. "Class," she said in an overly bright voice, a fake smile plastered on her face. The class watched her with a weary eye, not knowing what she was trying to pull off. "After a meeting with the principal, he has said that it is unfortunate that you did not receive the news of the ball earlier. However-"

She was interrupted when a black haired boy and chestnut haired girl strode in. Takashi and Chiharu have returned. Both looking extremely happy and pleased with themselves.

"Hey class," Takashi said breezily. Shouts of 'hey', 'yo' and 'what's up' answered him. Yamazaki was a popular guy. He wasn't elected form captain by chance.

"We've just come from the principal's office," Chiharu said. Whoops and catcalls came from the male section of the class. Being a pretty girl with alluring brown eyes, she was not only form captain but also head cheerleader. And she too, wasn't selected for form captain for nothing.

"And," Takashi continued, "we have some exciting news." The students kept on cheering. These two really knew how to rile up the crowd, compared to Ms Lai.

Chiharu nodded. "When we got to the Mr Honda's office, we told him how we were terribly mistreated by our teacher, who shall not be named," she put on a dramatic face. The class hushed. "and because she didn't care to tell us about the Masquerade, or rather, in my opinion, she purposely kept this from us, we have to miss out on a simply wonderful evening."

Takashi tsk-tsked and shook his head solemnly. "And since we only knew today, even if we plan to go, we will have no time to prepare for the ball, and we will look like complete idiots in front of the whole school."

The students yelled out abuse to Ms Lai and shook their fists at her. Some girls started tearing up. The back row watched the scene unfold. It was quite dramatic for high school.

"As your form captains, we felt that we have to do something about this outrage," said Chiharu.

"Luckily, our dear Mr Honda was very sympathetic..." said Takashi cheerfully, which was a _really_ quick change of expression.

Chiharu smiled. "And thanks to Takashi's excellent persuasive skills-"

"Why, Chiharu, you weren't so bad yourself!" Takashi said flirtatiously.

Chiharu's cheeks tinted slightly and she hit him over the head. The class laughed at the two: Chiharu always tries to ignore him but they all knew she enjoyed the attention from Takashi.

"As I was saying," as Chiharu's colour returned to normal, "we were able to persuade Mr Honda..."

"Into giving us the permission..." said Takashi.

The whole class waited for it. They knew whatever their form captains did was good; Chiharu looked like she was going to explode with excitement.

"TO HAVE THE REST OF TODAY OFF TO PREPARE FOR TONIGHT'S MASQUERADE!" Chiharu finally burst out.

The class sat in shock. Because one thing...it was only 9:30 in the morning...not even an hour of school has passed yet.

"So, do you have anything to say, Ms Lai?" said Takashi haughtily.

Everyone stared at the teacher and she shifted uncomfortably. "Class dismissed," she said dully.

And with that, the truth sunk in. The class erupted, and celebrated with cheering and clapping.

"Wait," said Ms Lai quietly. Even with her softly spoken statement everybody could hear her; there was something in her voice that sounded something like glee. "Miss Kinomoto and Mr Li...have you not forgotten? You both received a detention earlier."

The room immediately turned sober. Their classmates turned to send them looks of sympathy. Sakura and Syaoran immediately glared back with 'I-don't-need-your-damn-pity' written all over their face.

"Class...you are free to go...but Kinomoto and Li...please stay behind," Ms Lai said with a malicious glint in her purple eyes.

* * *

**R&R**

**scarletskies**


	9. Let the Contest Begin

CCSxSt Tail. Two gangs at Tomoeda High; Sakura's and Syaoran's. Both hate each other equally, but what happens when they have to stand side by side against another school? DM ET but especially SS

Hey! Haven't updated in ages but I had exams! Well, now its holidays 4 me and I can rite again! the nxt few chapters are gonna b a bit longer, I think, but hey, ur not complaining, rite?

Thanks to: Lonely Magician Miss Blossom ZIA00013 Mimiluv DeAtHaNgEL-LaVeNdA Mimi-102 Rite4ever nicky lovey-teti chikichiki Tinaptran Illusion Dragon wingless-angel-qt...

Reviewers r so nice love u all!

Disclaimer: 'tis not mine. No characters r mine, juz the storyline...

**The Ice-cream Parlour: Let the Contest Begin **

"Tick, tick, tick," said Syaoran, imitating the clock. Sakura growled in annoyance. He had been doing that for the past half hour, and it was driving her insane. He was sitting close enough that she could hear every noise he made. And what pissed her off even more was that it was only 10:00am; there was still another half an hour to go. "Will you please shut up?!" she finally yelled.

Syaoran smiled evilly. His new favourite pastime was annoying Kinomoto. Why? He didn't know. He just found out today. It was entertaining watching her squirm and sigh and grip the edge of her seat without ever saying a word to him.

He slid his chair closer to where she was sitting, and she automatically shifted her chair away. Syaoran pretended to look offended but she didn't once look in his direction.

Tap, tap, tap, goes Syaoran's blue biro on the desk. Sakura squeezed her eyes shut in frustration.

Squeak, squeak, squeak, goes Syaoran's chair when he rocked back and forth.

Knock, knock, knock, goes Syaoran's knuckles on the hard surface.

Thump, thump, thump, goes Syaoran's head as he banged his forehead against the table.

"THAT'S IT!" Syaoran heard her scream and suddenly found himself out of his seat and pinned against the wall. 'What amazing strength Kinomoto has,' he mused in the split second. Sakura was holding him with the collar of his shirt and although his legs weren't dangling off the ground (because he was taller than her), he looked helpless. She seemed like a half starved tigress just let out of her cage.

"Li," Sakura snarled, her eyes frighteningly cat-like. "What the hell did I say just then?"

'Woah…' Syaoran thought with a smirk, 'she actually does look scary.' "You…ahh…said…to shut up," he said, unable to talk properly because he was painfully shoved against some plastic pinheads that were used to put posters up.

"And you didn't shut up, did you?" she said with a growl. She gripped his collar even tighter, and when she realized he couldn't breathe, she loosened her hold on him.

"I _did_ shut up," Syaoran pointed out. "I stopped talking…I was just making noises. You should've told me to not make a sound instead," he said matter-of-factly. Sakura sent him a murderous look. If looks could kill.

Syaoran watched her in half amusement, half fear. She looked like she was going to detonate any moment into a killing frenzy.

Luckily for him, she didn't. She let out a huge sigh, and slumped back on her chair. Syaoran blinked. He thought she was going to attack him or something but she didn't. Why? And he was ready for her this time, too!

"I thought you were going to kill me just then, Kinomoto," Syaoran grinned, drawing a chair for himself.

"I can't be stuffed killing you every time you piss me off. Tomoyo educated me that it will be too energy consuming," she answered, eyes closed. "Besides, I can only kill you once and that wouldn't be enough compensation."

"Right..." he said, who couldn't think of a comeback fast enough. A silence ensued. "Anyway!" Syaoran said suddenly in a bright tone, "speaking of our gang…"

Sakura opened one eye to look at him weirdly. "We weren't speaking of our gang, Li."

"Well, now we are. We have something to discuss. Remember? Gang name."

"Oh yeah."

"Any ideas?"

"No."

"What about your friends?"

"No."

"Some enthusiasm, please?"

"What's the rush, anyway?" Sakura said, stifling a yawn as she laid her head on her arms.

"My idea is that we reveal our new gang to our school tonight. From tonight, we will no longer be known as separate gangs but one supreme ruling gang in Tomoeda. From tonight, we don't have boundaries in Tomoeda against each other anymore. And from tonight, our vast empire and all our minions will bow down and accept us as their new leaders, and we will kick those Hatashi Sharks' ass," Syaoran finished his speech by throwing his hands up into the air theatrically.

Sakura, for the second time that morning, looked at him weirdly. "Minions, eh?"

"Oh shut up, Kinomoto," was all he said.

"So…how about that name, then? We have…" she looked at the clock that hung on the classroom wall, "around ten minutes left. What do you propose?"

"Me? Wow, I never thought the day would come when Kinomoto asks for my opinion."

"Don't push it."

"Alright, alright," Syaoran said, "but I want to know what you think first. You must have thought of some kind of name by now. Seriously, any _faint _ideas of what our name should be?"

Sakura shrugged. "I don't know…what about…Blood Dragoons? You know…like putting both our old ones together."

Syaoran shook his head, dismissing the suggestion. "We need a _new_ name. Completely different. Something that is new, like our gang…"

"Well, what are YOUR cool brilliant fantastic ideas?" she said, sulking.

"Both our gangs' symbols are some sort of animal or creature, right?" started Syaoran.

"Right…"

"So we should be thinking along that line…"

"Right…"

"Stop saying that."

"Right…"

Syaoran ignored her this time and said, "Fine…if you don't really care, I'm not going to care about your opinion either."

"Alright…" Sakura said, yawning again.

"I'm gonna take charge."

"Right…"

"I think we should name our gang the Wolves."

"Alright," Sakura said, "that's a good idea."

"I know," said Syaoran smugly. "So…agreed then, on the Wolves?"

"Ri-wait," Sakura stopped, suddenly realizing something. "Wolves?"

Syaoran rolled his eyes. "I thought you were ACTUALLY listening just then? You even said it was a good idea!"

"But…" she sputtered, "Wolves…!"

"What's wrong, Kinomoto?" asked Syaoran amusedly.

"If we used Wolves…wouldn't we be naming the gang…after…you?"

'Damn!' thought Syaoran. 'I was hoping she didn't notice that.'

Sakura's eyes flashed as she stood up. "Mr Syaoran, Xiao Lang, Little Wolf, I hope you weren't trying to trick me. I _have _been paying attention in my Chinese lessons! I thought this was OUR gang, not just yours."

"So what?" he replied carelessly. "It _should_ be named after me anyway. I _am_ the stronger one out of us two. The Wolves is a good name; you should be glad that I'm letting you use my name to boost your title."

"Never!" she cried, "I refuse to let myself be held under your name! Any name but YOURS!" she declared, spitting out the last word as if it was a dirty word.

"What the hell do you WANT then, you stupid bitch?!" yelled Syaoran, tired of her ranting. "You didn't even care less about this just then!"

"Phoenix," was her quiet reply.

"What?!"

"The name I choose," she said, "is Phoenix."

"But that's stemmed from only your gang! You have to pick something that's fair to both!"

"And what about you, then? Is it fair that the whole gang is named solely after YOU?"

"We should get our other gang members to vote on this," Syaoran contemplated aloud.

"It won't work. Obviously Asuka and Hiiragizawa will back you up and Meimi and Tomoyo will support me," Sakura said thoughtfully.

After a few moments of deliberation, Syaoran finally spoke up. "I have an idea," he announced.

"Spill."

"I think we should have a competition or something to determine which name we will use. Say, if I win, we will use the Wolves…"

"And if I win, we will go with the name Phoenix," Sakura cut in, nodding, "Good idea."

"I haven't finished yet, Kinomoto," Syaoran said, "I've decided how and when we will go about this contest."

Sakura looked at him questioningly. "Explain. When?"

"At tonight's Masquerade."

* * *

2:00pm

Eriol's House…erm…Castle

"Hey how did you think to use the Create card to make these outfits?" Asuka said, watching Syaoran magically transform Eriol's sketches to life. The pile of newly made clothes dropped onto the floor as Syaoran stopped his magic.

"I don't know…I just thought of it," Eriol lied, picking up his costume and running his fingers on the edge of the fabric. Deep down, someone had given him to idea…

The other two guys picked up their costumes and the three went to separate rooms to try them on. When each of them opened the door and stepped out, they burst into laughter.

"Syaoran…you look like an idiot…" Asuka laughed, "Can you even _move _in that?"

"Actually, it's quite light," Syaoran said, closely examining the material. "And comfortable as well."

"Hm…we don't look that bad, do we?" Eriol said, looking his friends up and down. "Here…let's go to the mirror room, shall we?" he said, leading them down the long hallway.

* * *

They were standing in what Eriol called 'the mirror room', which looked it was built for ballroom dancing or ballet dancing. One wall was from top to bottom a mirror, where maybe the dancers could see themselves and keep in time as they practiced. A magnificent crystal chandelier hung in the centre of the huge room, glittering as the sunlight streamed in from the big arched windows. Red velvet curtains were pulled back to reveal a wide balcony outside. Gold and ivory trimmings laced the white stone walls, and a beautiful painting of cherubs in the sky stretched across the ceiling. 

"Wow," was all Asuka could say, "Eriol, you've never showed us this room before!"

"Yeah…well, it was renovated just a few months ago."

Asuka still gazed in awe at the ceiling.

"So, can you please repeat to me what's going to happen tonight at the ball?" Eriol asked Syaoran, referring to what they were talking about before in the hallway.

Syaoran sighed as he looked at his own reflection in the huge mirror. "It's simple, really. It's a Masquerade, remember? Kinomoto and I are going to hide our auras (actually you two will have to too) and by the end of tonight, the first person to recognize the other is the winner."

"Winner of what?"

"We were having an argument ("Typical," muttered Eriol) about our new gang name. So we came up with a solution: If I find her tonight before she finds me, she must agree on the gang name 'the Wolves'."

"What was her suggestion?" Asuka said, also in front of the mirror. He adjusted his collar and tried to fix his hair in some sort of style.

"She wanted to name us 'Phoenix'. I mean, what kind of name is that?" Syaoran sneered, remembering the morning. "Oh yeah, and when I think I've found her, I have to say 'Wolves' in her ear."

"How will you know it's really her, though, after you say 'Wolves' in her ear?"

"She has to take off her mask and then lead me to the stage, where we will announce our alliance to the school."

"What makes you so sure that you will win? I mean, she has just as a likely chance as you."

Syaoran chuckled. "Stop worrying, Eriol! It will be easy to recognize her…she is, after all, the ugliest girl in the school. Even behind that fancy mask she is going to wear tonight, her ugliness will show through!" he said. Eriol was still doubtful. Who was Syaoran kidding? Syaoran knew Kinomoto was the prettiest girl in the whole of Tomoeda; he was just not admitting it.

"Besides," said Syaoran, "I have a little something that will help me in that backpack of mine…" he pointed to his bag that he brought along. "Something called temporary haircolour and contact lenses…"

* * *

4:00pm

Tomoyo's Mansion

"I have to find Li Syaoran tonight at the Masquerade before he finds me," explained Sakura to her two friends. "Because we will all be in costumes, it will be harder, I guess."

"Sounds impossible," said Meimi, munching on a chocolate bar. "The whole school is attending this dance…which means you have to look through over a thousand people!"

"And plus, we have agreed to hide our auras," added Sakura.

"Oh Sakura," Tomoyo's eyes misting over with worry, "Why did you ever agree to this?" She was finishing the designs for their costumes, colouring in the last details.

"Because! I won't let him stamp all over us like that. Imagine being named the Wolves, after him! We have to stand our ground! I'm supposed to have a leadership position in the gang! And I don't care what he thinks…I have the responsibility to speak for you two."

"Well, I don't know…" Tomoyo said uneasily, now using watercolours, "Even if you find him, you can't exactly drag him away and _make_ him do whatever you want to do."

"We had a deal," Sakura said, "If I find him, I will say 'Phoenix' in his ear. When he hears that, he has to surrender his mask and we will go to the stage and announce our gang."

"What happens if he _hears_ you say Phoenix in his ear, but pretends he doesn't know you or what you're talking about? How do you know if he's willing to be honest in this?"

"I don't," Sakura answered truthfully. "I have to trust him; and he in turn, has to trust me." She sat in deep thought after that.

Meimi sat on Tomoyo's bed, flicking through some fashion magazines. "Hey Tomoyo, why not try adding this kind of frill on the bottom of the dress?" She pointed to the page she was looking at. Tomoyo went over to her. "Yeah, ok…wait I'll just draw it on…"

"I'm still not so sure about tonight, Sakura," Tomoyo said while adding Meimi's suggestion on paper.

"Well, I wish you'd stop worrying," Sakura stretched, getting ready to cast some magic. "Everything is under control. You know I won't let Li beat me in anything."

"Still…" Tomoyo frowned as she worked, "Sakura, he has a chance of winning."

"Of course. But remember, so do I."

"Alright. Here, I'm finished," Tomoyo leapt up from her chair and handed Sakura her work.

"Wow Tomo, you really did outdo yourself this time," Meimi exclaimed as she looked over Sakura's shoulder.

Sakura felt a warm energy surge to the tips of her fingers and she directed the power to the piece of paper. The drawings started to glow as Sakura imagined them in her mind. She imagined the softness of the material; the bright glittering colours that Tomoyo had painted…she imagined the hemlines studded with diamante, the shiny pearl beads that decorated the straps, the silky ribbons that bound the waistline…

When she opened her eyes again a heap of clothes were in her arms. Tomoyo immediately looked at each of her creations in turn before giving a satisfied smile. "Here, quick! Try these on!" she ushered them into different rooms down the hall while she stayed in her bedroom.

Meimi soon met Tomoyo in the hallway. "These fit great Tomo," she praised, "And I love this design."

"Yeah, it looks great on you, Mei," Tomoyo said. Meimi nodded her thanks and said, "You look awesome as well. You're such a natural head-turner!" Tomoyo blushed a bit but then focused her attention on Sakura's door. "Come out, Sakura! Is it not fitting well? I can draw it again!"

"It's not that…" came the mumbled reply.

"What is it?" Meimi asked anxiously. "Don't you like the colour? I helped Tomoyo with the colouring part…"

"No, it's not that either…"

"Then what?"

"It's…um…" the door slowly opened to reveal an embarrassed Sakura with her arms crossed over her chest. "Don't you think it's a bit revealing?" Tomoyo laughed at her shy friend. She took Sakura's arms and made them stay by her side. "Sakura," she said gently, "You look perfectly fine."

"Beautiful," Meimi teased. Meimi wondered why her friend, Sakura, was fretting over her appearance. She was gorgeous, especially in that dress.

"Absolutely stunning."

"Amazing."

"Breathtaking."

"Alright I get it," said a very red Sakura.

"Well, I think the colour of this material suits your haircolour," Tomoyo said as she stepped back to look at Sakura up and down. "Meimi you chose just the right shade of green!"

"Matches her eyes perfectly, too," agreed Meimi.

"Uh oh…" Sakura realized something. "I forgot to tell you guys…"

"What is it?"

Sakura walked back into Tomoyo's room, and when she came out again she was holding a bag that she brought earlier. "I _have_ to win the contest tonight, right?"

"Right…" chorused her friends.

"So…I've brought along this…" Sakura took out a box of haircolour. "And this…" she searched around in her bag and pulled out a pair of disposable contact lenses.

"But…won't that be cheating?" Meimi said, nibbling on a piece of hair.

"Oh come on Meimi…I bet Li is planning to use a dirtier trick than me to bend the rules anyway."

Tomoyo gasped. "Sakura! You're going to change your haircolour?! You're going to cover your beautiful, red hair…" she sobbed as she sank to the ground.

Sakura looked at her with a frustrated sigh. "Tomoyo…read the label…its _temporary_ haircolour. Washes out in a few days."

"Oh!" Tomoyo got off her knees in a second, cheerful again. "OH!" she said suddenly, very loudly.

Meimi giggled, "What is it this time?"

"Sakura! Why didn't you tell us this earlier?" Tomoyo scolded, "We've got less than four hours to get ready, and you still have to change your haircolour!" she pushed Sakura back into the room where she changed. "Change back into your normal clothes…hurry!"

* * *

7:50pm

"Syaoran, man," Asuka patted him on the back, "you think you can do this?"

"Yep," was his simple and confident response. The three young men were sitting outside the school gates, waiting for the night to start.

It was twilight; the sun was setting and already the skies were disappearing to a black night. Eriol looked at the darkening school building before them. The doors that led inside the school, then eventually the main hall, were already open; he could see the warm light flooding to the outside. A cold breeze of the evening made him shiver; he could feel something was going to happen tonight…something unexpected, something unknown. Nevertheless, he gave his friend a small smile, "Good luck, Syaoran."

* * *

8:15pm

"Sakura!!!" Meimi shouted, "look at all those people! Isn't this exciting?!"

Sakura turned to see the crowds of people waiting in line to enter the hall. "Hell yeah!" she happily replied. "Oh no…but there's such a long line!"

Meimi poked Sakura in the ribs. "Well…we are only late 'cause you couldn't put your contacts in properly."

Sakura pouted. "It was so hard! But it doesn't matter…I know how to get in the fast way…"

Tomoyo surveyed the line of dressed-up people with a critical eye. "Pfft…sluts…eww…cardboard… pirates…you call that a mask? Faux fur…bunny ears…" she muttered.

"Come on," Sakura said, dragging her away to the front of the line. "Blood Phoenix, no admission," she said to the couple of teachers at the door. Mr Jin swallowed and let them through. "Uh…you know where the main hall is, right g-girls?" he choked. "Turn right after the end of this hallway, then left after you reach the office."

Meimi gave him a sweet smile which Mr Jin gulped at, scared of what she was going to do to him. "Thanks, Mr Jin," she laughed at his reaction.

They entered the building, and following the teacher's directions, soon arrived at giant wooden double doors: the entrance of the main hall. Already they could hear the loud music and people dancing and laughing away, the tinkling of glasses and the glowing atmosphere of the Masquerade Ball.

"Ready?" Sakura said to Tomoyo who was holding on to her left hand. Tomoyo nodded and stared straight ahead at the doors.

"Ready?" Sakura asked Meimi who gripped at her right arm. Meimi half-smiled and only held onto her arm tighter.

"Right," Sakura murmured. "Let the contest begin…"

And together, the three friends pushed the heavy doors open.

* * *

**R&R tQ**

**scarletskies**


	10. Shall We Dance?

CCSxSt Tail. Two gangs at Tomoeda High; Sakura's and Syaoran's. Both hate each other equally, but what happens when they have to stand side by side against another school? DM ET but especially SS

im on HOLZ WHOO! Soz for really late updates..how can u possibly keep still wen the sun is shining and the weather is wonderful and the birds are twittering and its CHRISTMAS...and the holidayz…? (its summer over here atm -.-)

Costumes/haircolours/eyecolours/etc will b revealed soon…possibly in this chapter : )

YAY this is officially CHAPTER 10. and maib...over the 20,000 word mark as well (have to check after i upload)

Ok..a few things 2 sort out:

nipagirl12193- im not mad…seriously! I wanted to change it coz I want this story to be more…believable? Well…its pretty unbelievable with all the magic and stuff but I don't want to change the characters that much, because then I'll just be using the names of CCS, not the actual characters of CCS…do u all get it? (an easier way for me to explain would be…I want the _characters_ to be believable.) geez, I suck at explaining things -.-

I actually want to know what sux / isn't working with my stories ok? Then hopefully I can:

a) change it for future readers

b) keep it in mind for future stories

so feel free to say if its crap etc, no hard feelings. Unless I find out your fone number and where you live, I won't do anything to you. Promise XP.

Other than that...enjoy. Its pretty long (for me, anyway)

And…MERRY CHRISTMAS, everyone!

Disclaimer: 'tis not mine. No characters r mine, juz the storyline…

**The Ice-cream Parlour: Shall We Dance? **

Syaoran hung around the drinks table, sipping his fruit punch. Eriol had disappeared off to somewhere immediately after they had entered the room, and Asuka had gone to the restroom to fix his mask. He couldn't feel their auras either because part of the deal was that his two friends had to hide their auras as well. He had a feeling that Kinomoto had not arrived yet. 'Typical', he thought, 'she's always late for everything.' He took a glance at his surroundings. Every year, Tomoeda High organized some sort of dance, ball or social that the whole school attended, and every year was a different theme. This year, the decoration for the Masquerade was dark and richly detailed. Black velvet drapes shielded the ugly brick walls of the hall. Delicate thin strands of silver streamers completed the look. There was a beautiful water fountain churning at the end of the hall, in an attempt to make the atmosphere more 'mystical', and at the other end was a lovely strings quartet. Bluestone pillars, each set evenly apart, stood around the room with silver winding up from the bottom.

The ceiling was not visible for it was covered with hundreds of silver and black helium balloons, and it suspended small silver stars and glittery moons in the air. The hall was dimly lit with nothing but several lights that hung down from the high ceiling. Syaoran observed these lights with an annoyed expression. They looked like a gypsy's crystal ball, a clear bubble with a small light in the centre. 'Damn!' he thought, 'it's so dark in here with these useless lights…how am I ever going to find Kinomoto?' He made a mental note that if he lost this contest, he would find the people who decorated this hall and strangle them.

He leaned against one of the bluestone pillars as the music started playing again, and watched when couples headed towards the centre of the room to the dance floor. Being in disguise with his new haircolour and lenses, he was _not_ glad that the girls didn't recognize him. When he was in 'Syaoran Li' mode, the girls won't even dare talk to him. And now, with black hair and blue eyes, girls have been flocking to ask this 'stranger' for a dance.

"No," he said in monotone, when some girl dressed as a kitten came within two metres. The girl turned sadly away at the rejection. 'They just don't get it, do they?' Syaoran thought to himself, 'I've said 'no' to about a hundred of them already…do they think to themselves that they would be the one to change my answer?' Syaoran smirked as a girl clad in a tight mini dress made her way over. She winked flirtatiously at him but he sent her a look of disgust. "Definitely not," he told her before she even opened her mouth. He grabbed his dyed-black hair in irritation, making it even more tousled. 'Damn it Kinomoto,' he gritted his teeth, 'where the hell are you?' Deciding that he needed a fresher drink than fruit punch, he emptied his glass and ducked outside through one of the back doors for a drink of water.

* * *

Sakura blinked as she entered, in a daze at the sudden dimness of the room. Her friends immediately separated from her; this was part of the plan, because if Li spotted her hanging with Tomoyo and Meimi, he would know that it was her. She felt her friends' auras switch off, as part of the deal. A warm feeling enveloped her; the atmosphere of the room lifted her spirits greatly. She observed the hall; the only bright spot in the room was the centre, where people danced. Others were standing on the sides in the darkness, talking and drinking. The dim lights gave a sort of magical feeling to the room and everyone was talking in hushed voices. Making sure she hid her aura well, she wandered her way alone, feeling everyone's eyes prickle her skin. But she showed no fear. Sakura Kinomoto was not one to show fear. But tonight, she wasn't Sakura Kinomoto either. Her hair shone a dark mahogany that flowed past her shoulders, and her once emerald green eyes were now concealed behind vivid turquoise lenses, making her look ethereal. She floated across the room, receiving jealous looks from girls and making guys' jaws drop. 'I wonder where Li is,' she thought. 

She eventually ended up by the fountain. Sakura sat on the edge, examining her reflection. 'Funny,' she mused, 'I can barely recognize myself.' A noise behind startled her. A couple was apparently kissing behind a pillar and accidentally knocked one of the ornaments down. Sakura glared at them for disturbing her peace. The couple blushed, and feeling self-conscious, decided to find some other place to make-out. As they headed off in another direction, with the boy leading the girl away, Sakura's glare softened. How she longed for something like that! Sure, she had half the male population in her school lusting after her, but she knew that was all it was: lust. She hadn't actually found someone who loved her on the inside, someone she could depend on. Ever since she found out she could use magic, she had been independent. She had all that power, and even Touya and her dad knew she was capable of taking care of herself. Never had she had someone who she could lean back on, someone who would embrace her when things got down. She wished for someone who would think about her the whole day, and she would think about him. Sakura smiled sadly at the water, dipping her fingers in and enjoying the coolness it gave. 'What am I doing, daydreaming?' she said bitterly, 'I should be thinking about Li.'

* * *

"Daidouji." 

Tomoyo froze in her spot, afraid to turn around. "Yes?" she squeaked, still with her back to him. He didn't answer but she heard a movement behind her. His fingertips brushed her bare arm and she felt goose bumps appear on her skin.

"Daidouji…" His voice teasing and soft.

Eriol held a breath as she slowly turned, taking all of her in. Tomoyo was dressed in lilac. Inspired by the Greek Classical period, it was a light dress with a modest neckline, then tight just beneath her breasts, and flowed down to the floor. Dainty white pearls made up her straps. A slit ran up to her mid thigh, giving her innocent dress a sexy edge. From her hair up in a bun entwined with white flowers, to the silver stilettos that laced up her legs, there was no denying that Tomoyo Daidouji looked like a goddess. Was it coincidence? Eriol had designed his own costume as a Roman god, mixing contemporary with the ancient. He himself was dressed in loose white pants; and only a long white linen robe, held together by a silver clasp, covered his bare chest, making girls faint whenever he walked past.

Eriol smiled as she blushed faintly under his gaze. He brought up a hand to her face and she trembled, unsure what he was going to do. Gently, he reached for her silver mask, and fixed it so it was straight.

"Daidouji," he said again, "dance with me?"

* * *

Asuka looked at the mirror one last time. Eriol designed him as a prince, with a high collar, red tailcoat trimmed with gold and white cuffs. His white pants covered his white shoes, and he wore a yellow sash attached to his left shoulder. Asuka scowled at his reflection, hating the fact that he was at this party and that maybe, by some stupid chance, he would see Haneoka. 

Why though, did he hate her so much? He didn't know. Ever since they were in kindergarten, even before he met Syaoran and Eriol, he had something against her. Haneoka was always better than him in everything. In kindergarten, she was able colour in pictures better, she was smarter in spelling and counting numbers, she drew prettier pictures…Haneoka was always perfect. He hated her for that. He made her his rival; an enemy to defeat. He started taunting her; name-calling, hair pulling, and sticking his foot out to trip her at any chance. But Haneoka, back then, didn't retaliate. She was everyone's favourite child; sweet and forgiving, even to him. But when and why did she start hating him back? 'Oh yeah,' he smirked at the memory, 'I broke her favourite crayons...'

Asuka exited the boys' toilets with a depressed spirit. There was around three hours till the Masquerade ended and he had nothing to do. Syaoran was trying to remain disclosed and Eriol was no where to be seen; their auras were hidden. Even Hanoeka wasn't around for him to annoy. 'Argh...' he thought, still standing in front of the toilets, 'I'm a sad, sad, lonely person,' he commented, looking up at the balloon-filled ceiling, 'God please help me get through tonight…'

OOF.

"OW!" Someone bumped into him and because he was stronger, the person was knocked to the ground.

"Watch where you're going!" snapped the person, looking irritated, sitting on the floor.

"What do you mean? I was just STANDING HERE," Asuka retorted. He reached out a hand to the person on the ground, and helped the person up. The girl dusted off her clothes with her free hand and it was then did Asuka realize that she was absolutely beautiful. She featured a pale yellow off-the-shoulder top and a gold butterfly pendant hung around her neck. Her white knee-length skirt was actually made up of different pieces; each piece was shaped like a petal, and because the material was almost see-through, when layered together, her skirt looked like a delicate flower. Three yellow ribbons were tied around her waist. She reminded Asuka of a fairy, from stories when he was young; the pretty and cheeky ones that always got into mischief. Her hair was braided into two plaits, her real haircolour barely visible because her hair was crazily streaked with gold glitter. Her mask shielded her eyes from him but Asuka still stared awestruck at the girl in front of him.

"Um…" the girl said, her voice sounding strangely musical and familiar. Asuka shook his head. "What?" he asked, trying to cover up the fact that he was staring at her. She pointed to his hand, which was still holding onto hers. "Oh," he said, now truly embarrassed. He watched her smile a bit and he let go, a little unwillingly. Asuka watched her leave, and to him, it seemed like forever. Her every step echoed in his mind and every graceful movement was replaying in front of his eyes.

Asuka sighed. Now he knew what people meant by love at first sight. And like most circumstances, she was way out of his league. 'Now…' he thought, 'back to my sad, sad, lonely world of never-ending Masquerade…what was I thinking about before? Oh yes…God…you up there? Thanks for making the girl of my dreams fall at my feet but get up and coldly leave me. It's nice that I feel alone and hurt and unwanted and emotionally unstable,' he blamed sarcastically.

A thought struck him. He replayed the scene in his mind. The girl…the girl…bumped into straight after his short prayer to God. God must have sent her to him…but not to make fun of him, but he actually answered his prayer! He mouthed the exact words he had said moments before: "God please help me get through the night…" She was the one sent to help him 'get through the night'. And what was he doing now? Letting her leave him just like that!

Asuka desperately scanned for the fairy in yellow. 'What am I thinking…she must have gone somewhere far far away by now,' he thought sadly, 'Nice one Asuka…you blew your chance.' Suddenly his eyes caught a flash of gold glitter. His mind went numb for a second when she turned, and he saw something glinting around her neck: her butterfly pendant. His heart leapt. It was her! He hurriedly pushed his way through the crowd; ignoring the disapproving looks from his fellow students and teachers; he didn't care. He needed to get to her.

* * *

Meimi yawned. The Masquerade was sure not what she had imagined. She thought it was going to be all festive and bright and colourful, but it turned to be some crappy dark room and dull waltz music. Apart from the fact that she had bumped into that cute boy moments before, the Masquerade was just plain boring. 

"Wait! Sorry…excuse me…get out of my way!"

Meimi listened to the voice. It was very familiar, but she couldn't put her finger on it. 'Oh well…there are over a thousand people here…could be anyone,' she thought, and continued walking.

"Please let me through…I _have_ to get to her! Excuse me…she's getting away…"

Meimi giggled. Whoever it was, he was sweet! Chasing after a girl like that… 'How romantic!' she went starry-eyed and sighed, 'I wish he was chasing after _me_…'

"Ah crap…sorry there...WAIT!"

Meimi frowned. He needed some work on his language though. 'Ah crap' was _so_ not romantic. A tap on her shoulder made her stop walking and she turned around.

'AHHHHH!' she screamed ecstatically inside her head. It was the cute boy she bumped into just then. He was breathing heavily and looked like he had just been running. Meimi put the pieces together. 'He was the one…chasing for the girl…who was…_me_?'

He ceased panting and straightened himself uncomfortably. "Ah…uh…" he managed to splutter out.

Her eyes widened. "Y-yes?"

His cheeks turned visibly red. "Will…w-will you…"

Meimi smiled encouragingly, "Will I…?"

"Will you dance with me?" he diverted his gaze to the ground.

'YES!' her mind screamed, 'DANCE WITH HIM!' But on the outside:

"No."

His head snapped back up. "Why?" By his tone she could tell that he was not often refused.

"Do I need a reason?" she said slyly. Time to play hard to get!

"Yes, tell me," he growled.

"You're persistent, aren't you," she put her hands on her hips, a bit annoyed with him.

"Listen lady," he said, grabbing her arm, "I asked nicely!"

"Your behaviour isn't that nice now," Meimi commented calmly, not fighting his grip. 'He sure is good-looking, but really, his manners are appalling!' she noted to herself. 'Just like someone else I know…' Her thoughts drifted to Asuka, who had called her a 'bitch' and a 'dumbass blonde' just this morning. 'Argh…Asuka…why am I even thinking about him now?'

The boy shuffled his feet, still waiting for her answer. She looked him up and down, still considering. He was dressed handsomely as a prince, and glancing swiftly over his shoulder, she saw several girls glaring enviously at her. She also noticed that he had forest green hair…just like…_Asuka_. 'Stop it,' she mentally slapped herself, 'there's a perfectly cute boy who is standing in front of you and you're thinking about HIM?'

But then she thought again. 'He's here tonight, right? What would Asuka think if I danced with this boy…he _did_ say I was an ugly disease-infected monster who nobody would go near…' she recalled from one of their usual verbal battles. 'Stupid idiot…Ugly, 'ey? Monster? I'm going to prove him wrong!'

With that, her expression changed. She beamed a billion dollar smile at the boy on front of her. "Sure!" she said, suddenly taking his hand that was on her arm, "Let's dance!" and she practically dragged the bewildered boy to the dancefloor.

* * *

The dark haired boy slipped back inside, the wind from outside making his hair more rogue-like than ever. He scanned across the room, hoping to spot his rival, Kinomoto. He could not find an auburn head anywhere. 'Phew…' he thought, 'she's not here yet.' 

He returned to his place by the bluestone pillars, again watching everyone while at the same time keeping watch for Kinomoto. 'Look…there's Yamazaki and Mihara…geez, they need to get a room…and there's Mamoru…what the hell is he wearing? And Mina…that's just disgusting!' Cursing the lights, he tried to find his friends. His eyes wandered towards the crowds of people that were chatting on the sides of the room, but he couldn't find them anywhere. 'Unless…they're in the middle…_dancing_…' What he saw made his jaw drop.

Eriol…was dancing with Daidouji! His eyes were glued to the elegant couple as they twirled gracefully around the centre of the room, completely in tune with the music and each other. 'Do they even know they're dancing with each other?' he wondered, 'but either way…Eriol's a lucky bastard…Daidouji looks hot.' He decided to leave them be; they actually do look perfect, like a real couple.

His watchful gaze left them, but what he saw _next_ nearly made his eyes bulge out of their sockets. He found Asuka dancing with…Haneoka! "What is with the world today," he muttered. But thinking it over, Asuka probably doesn't know that it was her. And Haneoka probably doesn't know it was him either. They absolutely detest one another…and Syaoran admitted that Haneoka was barely recognizable (and pretty cute, he might add) in that costume and with all that glitter in her hair. 'Asuka buddy…' he grinned, 'you're gonna be so in for it when she finds out.' With a wicked smile, he also decided to leave his friend alone; but for a very different reason. After all, it would be so funny to see the look on Asuka's face!

'So…my friends have bagged the prettiest girls in the school…now, where's the ugliest one?' he thought, folding his arms. 'If Daidouji and Haneoka are here…Kinomoto should be somewhere here as well…'

'Where could she be hiding?' he asked himself, checking each part of the hall. 'Let's see…behind the strings quartet? Nope. Drinks table? Nope. Dancefloor? 'Course not…nobody would dance with her. Fountain? Fountain…oh my god fountain…' he kept saying when he caught sight of…

_Her._

All thoughts of Kinomoto went straight out the window when he saw _her._

She was perfect.

And beautiful.

And indescribably stunning.

Smooth brown hair, the colour of dark chocolate, hung in waves past her shoulderblades. It was left down but little butterfly clips held pieces of it back, making it look neat and pretty and the same time. The dark colour contrasted greatly against her pale complexion: it was like the moonlight kissed her skin; there was a certain radiance about her that glowed from the inside. Soft pink lips held a pout that made Syaoran forget about everything around him; he could see only her. He watched her shoulders sag and her head rest on her hand. His eyes left her face and traveled down her slender neck, and he thanked whoever designed her dress silently. It was strapless, and hugged every curve, then flowed down and spread onto the floor. It was a light, distinct green, a pale green like honeydew. Swirling designs outlined in diamante decorated the bust, and strands of white pearls wrapped around her figure just under her breasts. A pair of delicate transparent butterfly wings was sewn onto the back.

And she was sitting on the edge of her fountain, looking pensive as her hand skimmed the surface of the water. Syaoran wondered what she was thinking about. Syaoran couldn't tear his eyes away from her. She was beautiful…that was the only word to describe her, and still that word is not enough. She was beautiful in her own way, not like Daidouji, or Haneoka. How can you compare an angel with a goddess, or a fairy? They were all beautiful, but in very difference ways.

When Syaoran felt his jaw becoming sore from it hanging open, he quickly regained his composure. And tore his stare away. Then glanced back at her. Then looked away again. Then stole a look at her. Then pretended to stare at something else in the opposite direction. "What the hell is happening to me," he said, "stop looking at her like some obsessed pervert."

'One last look,' a voice pleaded in his head, 'and then never again.'

"Alright," Syaoran said. He swiveled his head in her direction.

And found her amazing blue-green eyes catch his.

'_Shit.' _

* * *

**I'll put a review of all the costumes in the next chapter. Meanwhile…**

Asuka's costume- think of Syaoran's prince costume in the original CCS

The Girl Syaoran Is Staring At's costume (I think you all know who she is…but in attempt to not ruin anyone's read) - think of Neo Queen Serenity from Sailor Moon

everyone gasps…if Asuka's wearing Syaoran' prince costume…then what will Syaoran be wearing?

**R&R thx**

**Merry Christmas!**

**scarletskies**


	11. Beloved Enemy

CCSxSt Tail. Two gangs at Tomoeda High; Sakura's and Syaoran's. Both hate each other equally, but what happens when they have to stand side by side against another school? DM ET but especially SS

Apologising for late update! But hereare some reasons why it took so long:

a. I went overseas for almost a month

b. originally I was gonna split this chapter up in two coz it was so long (over 6,000 words)! But I thought putting it together was better…bsides its like one big present to you guyz coz u've bn waiting so long!

c. guaranteed a lil' bit of bittersweet SxS in here!

Thankyou everyone for your reviews, im glad u like this story! I've had it in my head for quite some time now…its such a relief to unload all these ideas on paper…or rather, the computer, but u know wat I mean…

By the way, if anyones interested…you noe how I said this was gonna b a longgggg story? Well, to keep u guyz updated..i think we're up to about one tenth of the story. Or maib evn smaller than that. I have a heap of SS MD and ET stuff to get thru! (Its taking this long bcoz u know, I have to write about three couples!)

Disclaimer: 'tis not mine. No characters r mine, juz the storyline…

**The Ice-cream Parlour: Beloved Enemy **

Sakura had been keeping herself amused by staring into the waters of the fountain, admiring how the drops of water seemingly dance back up as it hit the surface. 'Why am I even here,' she thought grumpily, wanting to pull her hair out in frustration but when remembering how long Tomoyo took to style it, she dropped her hands listlessly by her side. "Damn Li…this is all his stupid fault. His stupid idea," she said, "at least he hasn't found me yet…"

Although she had not once left the fountain, all night, Sakura had been on watch for Li. It was getting late, and still no sign of a chocolate brown head amongst the crowds. 'Why do I even bother…maybe he set this whole thing up as a joke.'

And if this was a joke it sure wasn't funny. The fact that she was undercover meant she had to refrain from using magic on anyone who tried to ask her to dance or was obviously bitching about her. She was also particularly aware of the hundreds of eyes that followed her every move, even when she was just sitting there. And a certain pair of eyes she was most aware of was _his_.

_Him_.

Leaning casually against a bluestone pillar, arms crossed, looking _so_ irresistibly handsome with his messy black hair and a mouth that was sternly turned down. He appeared so arrogant, so mysterious, that Sakura couldn't help but be drawn to him. And his outfit suited him well. As a black knight, half clad in black armor, he looked dangerously…attractive. The shoulder and elbow guards, shin guards and breastplate rounded out, suggesting muscles underneath, and were elaborately ornamented with silver. Parts of his black shirt and pants were visible where there was no armor, and he wore black silver lined gloves. And with a black cape attached under his shoulder guards, he somehow looked indestructible.

She was tempted to watch him, but the problem was, _he_ was watching _her_. She could feel his eyes roaming over her, and she suddenly felt self-conscious. Trying to ignore the urge to stare back at him, she pretended to be interested in the water and rested her head on her hand. Why was he having this effect on her?

'Just one peek…' she compromised with herself, and turned to see him looking elsewhere: not at her. Sakura blushed as she quickly diverted her gaze back at the water. He didn't find her interesting anymore? 'Why am I even having these thoughts…'

She sneaked another glance at him, watching him from the corner of her eye, and felt her heart drop when he was still staring off into the distance. "I must be crazy…" she muttered, "to think that he was interested in me…"

'Last quick peek,' she heard a voice toying with her mind, 'you know you want to…'

Giving in, Sakura slowly turned, trying not to make it seem obvious.

And gasped when clear blue eyes pierce through her soul.

-

'Shit!' was her first reaction. Then…

'Oh my god he's looking straight back at me…' her heart did somersaults.

'His eyes are so blue…' with a dreamy look.

'Shit!' again.

'Where is he going?'

'Why is he cutting through the dancefloor…'

'…and walking towards me?'

-

"Hey," he said, surprising her with his deep voice, their eyes still locked.

"H-hey," she managed to breathe out, a hand over her rapidly beating heart.

He gave her a charming smile and her knees nearly gave away. Luckily for her, she was still sitting on the fountain's edge.

"Would…" he paused hesitantly, as if thinking something over. His expression was unreadable, for his black mask covered half his face. "…would you like to dance?" he said, extending a gloved hand.

Sakura nearly fainted, closing her eyes momentarily, hoping it wasn't just a dream. "I-I don't know how to dance," she whispered.

He heard her and leaned closer. "I'll teach you," he said softly next to her ear, making her shiver.

'Stop it. You are Sakura Kinomoto. Pick up your courage and show them what you're made of!'

'What about Li? I have to find him!' she argued pathetically against her own will.

'Screw Li! Take that damn hand!'

She lifted her eyes to the handsome stranger who was waiting expectantly for her answer. Putting her small hand in his, she mustered a tiny smile; and picking up her long skirts, she followed him to the dancefloor.

* * *

Tomoyo thought she was in heaven. Here she was, in the arms of the guy she adored, letting the world go by. "Hiiragizawa," she said as they swayed with the music, "why can't this just last forever?" 

Eriol sighed sadly, loving how snugly her head seemed to fit in the crook of his neck, "It can, it will."

"Promise?"

"Promise," he said, linking their hands together. He breathed the scent of her in, knowing it would be a while before he could hold her like this again.

"Daidouji," Eriol said gently, "remember when they tell us to take our masks off, act surprised," he told her.

"Ehh…" she mumbled, burying her face in his chest, not wanting to face the reality.

Eriol held her even more tightly as the strings quartet started a new song.

Tomoyo looked up and rested her chin on his broad shoulders. Eriol suddenly heard her shriek. "What is it?" he asked worriedly.

"It's Sakura," she squealed, excited, "she's nabbed herself a guy!"

"Really," Eriol's eyes twinkled good-humouredly, "what does he look like?" he asked, because he was facing the other way.

"He's hot," was her immediate reply.

"What? I'm hurt," Eriol said in an injured expression as he twirled her around. Tomoyo gave him a quick kiss on the cheek after she was spun around. "Don't worry, you're so much better than him," she said with a cheeky grin.

Eriol dipped her, using his hand to support her back. "I better be," he said huskily, making her giggle when he pulled her back up. "What is he wearing?"

"Black cape, black armor. He must like black a lot. Even his hair is black!" she said, looking over his shoulder.

Eriol paled. 'It can't be Syaoran, can it?'

"I can't really see his eyes from here…and why is the room so dark?" she complained. "Can we move a little closer?"

"Er…" Eriol sweated, "Maybe…maybe we should give them some time alone," he said, wanting to get as far away from them as possible. What if Syaoran saw him with Daidouji?

"Aww…as much as I hate it, you're right," Tomoyo decided, her forehead on his shoulder. "Let's go somewhere else."

Eriol breathed out relief, and quickly whisked her away from the couple.

* * *

Asuka couldn't believe that she said 'yes'! He stayed dazed as she pulled him along to the centre of the room, put his hands on her waist and settled her arms around his neck. 

He felt a poke in the ribs. "Hey," she laughed, "loosen up!"

"S-sorry," he mumbled, "pinch me or something because I think I might be dreaming."

"Aww…" she said, giggling again, "that's so sweet!" For some reason Asuka really liked hearing her laugh.

Then he felt a sharp sting on his cheek. "Hey!" he said, surprised. "What was that for?"

"You told me to pinch you," she stuck her tongue out.

"I did?"

"Yep. SO…" she gave him a sideways glance.

" 'So', what?"

"Are you dreaming?"

He drew her closer. "Definitely not."

She broke into a dazzling smile.

* * *

"I...I _really_ don't know how to dance," she repeated timidly. 

Syaoran took her trembling hands. "Don't worry, I'll lead," he said reassuringly. Funny how a total stranger could bring out his soft side. 'But she's an incredibly beautiful stranger…'

"You put your hand here…" he instructed, and took her right hand in his left, and supported her left arm with his right, in a ballroom dancing position.

"Okay…I'll start," he said. Personally he hadn't much experience in dancing but his mother used to make him take dance lessons when he was little. "Your steps are…back, back, feet together; then forward, forward, feet together."

"Back, back, together, forward, forward, together," she chanted, "Okay, I got it."

And with that, they were off. She was a little clumsy at first, but soon got the hang of it. The smile on her face grew bigger as they waltzed effortlessly in perfect harmony, and Syaoran couldn't help but let a small smile slip. He couldn't help but feel a little lighter.

As the song stopped and another one started, the two began to relax. Syaoran's hands somehow ended on her waist, and her arms wrapped around his neck. Syaoran looked down at the beauty in front of him. It wasn't because of how her hair was done up, or how her makeup was applied. She was so much more than that.

Suddenly he felt a pain in his right foot. "Hoee…" she said apologetically, embarrassed. "I'm really sorry..."

"Don't be," he gave her another charming smile. Luckily for him, she was wearing flat ballet-styled shoes. She looked so cute with her cheeks flushed red. He didn't know why he suddenly had the urge to swoop down and give her a kiss on the lips...

' 'Hoe'? Even her expressions are cute…' he sighed contentedly when she returned his smile.

-

-

'_Hoe_…'

-

The ice cold feeling of sudden realization shook his body to the core, piercing his body in half.

* * *

"Hiiragizawa! Look!" Tomoyo pointed towards the stage as the music stopped playing. She jumped up and down like a little girl, making Eriol chuckle. The principal, Mr Honda, was dressed smartly in a grey suit and he tapped the microphone a few times. "They're going to announce the awards!" Since the start of the ball, teachers have been roaming the sidelines, taking notes, which Tomoyo tactfully noticed. 

The lights of the hall grew even fainter, if that was possible, and the podium lit up with a bright light, grabbing everyone's attention.

"Do you think we'll win one?" she looked into Eriol's eyes, "we _are_ a damn sexy couple," she winked at him.

"Of course, my sweet," he said, hugging her.

He wanted to spend the little time they had left holding her.

* * *

Syaoran abruptly stopped dancing and backed away from her, just when the music stopped. "What is it?" she asked worriedly, not knowing why he was suddenly acting so cold. The lights were dimming and the atmosphere grew chilly. 

"It's…It's nothing…" Syaoran stared at her. 'It couldn't be her…could it? Kinomoto has green eyes…and auburn hair…' But then he reminded himself he wasn't exactly in his 'usual' state either.

'How could I be so blind? And so…stupid?'

"What's wrong?" she reached out and touched his arm and he winced. Why was it suddenly so painful to be with her?

'She doesn't know that it's me…' he thought, stepping back. 'I can still get away…'

She gave up trying to comfort him and instead stood still, looking forlorn.

His heart couldn't take it. 'It isn't fair!' he yelled silently, 'the only girl I've ever felt anything for…is…my worst _enemy_…'

The word _enemy_ popped into his head.

Feelings of dislike and rivalry suddenly washed over him.

And he remembered the reason he was here.

At the Masquerade…he had to beat Kinomoto.

And now, he had the advantage.

* * *

"_Thank you everyone, for attending. This year's ball is quite a success, do you agree?" _Mr Honda's magnified voice boomed across the room. He beamed as the students screamed and waved little flags they got from out of nowhere. 

"_Thank you to all the teachers who helped organize this event…Mrs Lim who did the catering, Mr Jin who was in charge of the tickets…Ms Hana for decorations…" _he said after all the noise died down.

"_Ahh…I must be rambling…you must all be very excited about these awards, eh?" _More screaming.

"_Well I shouldn't keep you waiting any longer…Our first award is the Cutest Couple Award…and…drum roll please…" _

People fell silent as they waited.

"_It goes to…" _

A spotlight shone on Meimi and her partner.

She threw her arms around him in joy. "We won something!" she shouted excitedly in his ear.

"Yeah…wow…" he said, a bit stunned, "can you check if my left ear is still working?"

Meimi laughed and cuddled him tighter. "Shut up, you."

* * *

Sakura stayed rooted on the spot in sadness. She honestly thought he liked her. And hell, she was absolutely smitten. But the dream shattered into pieces when she saw the look in his eyes as he stepped away from her. 

The look of confusion and denial.

'Why is this happening?' she cried in her mind, 'Am I not good enough?' she held back tears, distraught, as he vanished into the crowd.

'I am Sakura Kinomoto. Why am I moping over a boy?' she tried to steady herself, but her knees buckled underneath her. The girl fell to her knees in the darkness, invisible in the crowds of people who were applauding and cheering for the winners of the awards. They won't stop just for her.

* * *

"_And I'm very pleased to announce that the Best Dressed Award goes to…"_

The spotlight traveled from Meimi and her partner to a hugging couple. Shocked by the sudden bright light on them, they parted. The cheering mob of people whistled and they blushed, and they both gave an embarrassed bow.

Tomoyo looked back happily at Eriol. 'I told you we'd win something,' she mouthed, because the noise was so loud.

Eriol gave her a heart-stopping smile. "You were right," he said, but she couldn't hear.

"You were right, I said," Eriol told her again.

Tomoyo shook her head. 'Nope, can't hear you.'

He bent closer to her, and was just about to repeat his message, when…

'Ahh…what the heck,' thought Eriol, and on impulse, he gave her a peck on the lips.

The cheering only got wilder.

* * *

He encircled his arms around her fallen figure and carefully pulled her up. She looked up at him in surprise but Syaoran couldn't bear to look in her eyes. 

"I'm sorry," he said softly in her ear.

-

"_And now, for our most prestigious award…" _Mr Honda declared in a thunderous voice. Everyone hushed and held a breath in anticipation: some hopeful couples grabbing each others hand.

-

"But there's something I must tell you…" Syaoran continued, and her eyes held her question.

-

"_The Best Matched Couple is-" _

_- _

"Wolv-" Syaoran started, but never got to finish his word. The dazzling spotlight was on them, and he heard the roar of the crowd erupt in his ears. Confetti showered them from the ceiling and all he could see was Kinomoto's stunned expression, matching his. They…_won_ something? But…they couldn't! Not yet…the night couldn't be over! He found her…and he was just about to say 'Wolves' in her ear…and the stupid principal _had_ to interrupt him!

"_Alright everyone,"_ Mr Honda said, sweatdropping as he watched the students jumping, trying to catch the confetti, _"Will the winners please come up to the stage to receive their awards." _

Syaoran saw Asuka and Haneoka head towards the podium, and then Eriol leading Daidouji. 'They won awards too?' he thought, 'how…_convenient_…that we will all be on the stage…at the same time…' in his head a plan was already forming.

A small hand grabbed his and Kinomoto smiled at him. 'She still doesn't know it's me,' Syaoran realized, momentarily mesmerized by her smile, but then shaking it off when the familiar feeling of hunger for competition returned. He might still have a chance of beating her after all. If he could get to that microphone quickly enough.

* * *

on stage 

Sakura felt giddy with excitement as she stood on stage in the spotlight. Not only had she won something, but as she approached the podium she saw that Tomoyo and Meimi had won something too! 'Wow…' she sighed dreamily, 'this is definitely the best night ever… Plus there's this fine-looking guy holding my hand!' she thought, forgetting all about the incident that happened moments before.

Sakura looked over to Tomoyo, who pointed at her mysterious black-haired companion, and gave her a thumbs-up in approval. Sakura returned the favour and looked up and down at Tomoyo's partner. The boy standing next to Tomoyo was oddly familiar.

'Oh my god…' she gasped, 'Hiiragizawa!'

* * *

Tomoyo watched as Sakura started making violent jabbing movements at Hiiragizawa, who was holding her hand. 

"Uh oh…she knows," she told him quietly.

"What?"

"She knows that you're…_you_."

He thought for a moment. "But she doesn't know that _we_ know it's each other, right?"

"Hm…by the looks of it, I don't think so."

"That's alright, then," he said.

He tightened his grip on her hand and she relaxed, pretending not to see Sakura's increasingly aggressive warnings.

* * *

He could hear the audience in front of him shuffling and muttering, the rustling of clothing obviously meaning they were getting bored. Mr Honda was thanking all the sponsors for their prizes and describing each flower bouquet, teddy bear and basket of chocolates in great detail. 

With his hand still in contact with Kinomoto's, Syaoran felt disgusted; partly at her, but mainly at himself. A minute ago, he was _overjoyed_ to be able to dance with her. What was he thinking? Why did he even _ask_ her in the first place?

His eyes darted to her face and saw that she was positively glowing in excitement, accentuated with a bright happy smile. His thoughts changed again. 'Did she always look like this? Does she normally look this pretty? Everyday I see her at school and yet she doesn't look like this.

'Why is she suddenly so _enchanting _to look at?' What a stupid, sissy word.

These questions vanished from his mind quickly. 'Focus, Syaoran. You need to get to that microphone before her…so you can announce to the whole world that the Wolves will be born, not the Phoenixes.

'Why _does_ she look so different though? So different that even _I_ couldn't recognize her…'

The answer came immediately as she flashed another smile.

Everyday he saw her, every time she saw him; her facial expression would instantly change. Whether it was at school, the park or the icecream parlour, every time she laid eyes on him she would scowl or put on a stony appearance.

Kinomoto had never smiled at him before.

'And yet she smiled a million times tonight, at me, a complete stranger?' he thought, 'she must hate me a lot…

A surge of hot fury seeped into his blood. 'Well, I hate her too,' he told himself angrily, his claim sounding weak. 'I hate her red hair. I hate her green eyes. I hate her I hate her I hate her I hate her…' each of these sounded louder in his mind, drowning all doubts.

But his expression of anger soon turned to one of determination. He was not going to let her win. It wasn't over. It was never going to be over between them.

'Kinomoto…' he gritted his teeth, looking at that happy face again, 'you will never beat me.'

-

"_And thank you to Stuffed Mania for providing the adorable teddies we have here…'made out of finest fur and stitched together by hand', the tag says-"_ Mr Honda was interrupted by Ms Hana who was pointing frantically at the watch on her wrist.

"_Oh yes…time seems to be slipping away… Back to our winners..."_ he said in a jovial tone, looking at the three couples who stood nervously behind him.

"_If you would all like to step forward, so everyone can see you,"_ he smiled encouragingly at them, but they were hesitant. When nobody moved, Syaoran led his partner closer to the edge of the stage, so that he was right behind Mr Honda. He needed to be as close as possible to that microphone stand. Eriol and Asuka followed his lead so that now they were all lined up in pairs.

"_But before I hand over the prizes to you…you have to do one last thing,"_ Mr Honda said to the winners. The crowd of people leaned closer with interest.

"_I have one more thing to say…"_ and the audience groaned, not wanting to hear any more.

The principal gave an amused smile.

"_Take off your masks."_

* * *

None of the people on the stage moved. Frozen, the six acted as if they hadn't heard the principal at all. They all wanted to keep their disguise on. 

"_Oh come on,"_ Mr Honda said patiently, _"you have to take them off to collect your prize."_

That didn't seem a good enough reason.

"_You do want to find out who you've been dancing with, don't you?_

'Well…yes…' Meimi answered inaudibly, glancing at the boy next to her. It looked like he wasn't that keen on taking his mask off either.

She looked to Sakura, who was in front of her, for directions. A few hours ago, Sakura had told her that no matter what happened, they had to keep the masks on until she found Li or vice versa. 'But, they haven't found each other yet…' Meimi thought, 'so I should keep the mask on…but then again, the night is already over…'

A sudden loud cry echoed the hall. It made her jump and turn around curiously to the person who screamed. People in the audience were craning to see what happened.

Tomoyo, her face white, one hand over her mouth and clutching her silver mask, and the other pointing furiously at-

"Eriol!" said the boy next to Meimi.

"Wait…" Meimi turned slowly to her partner, "you know him?" She separated from him, sensing something was wrong.

"Yeah, so?" he said in a confused voice. He took a step closer to her, not knowing why she had backed away.

Meimi stood on tiptoe and ripped away his mask. Deep sea-green eyes blinked back at her.

"_Asuka!_" her mouth opened in astonishment, trying to process this discovery. He took this opportunity to yank her mask off her face.

"_Haneoka!_"

"You…you're…you!" Meimi couldn't find the words to describe how she felt.

"You tricked me!"

"_You_ asked me to dance!"

"You bumped into me first!"

The audience of students started to laugh, reminding them that they were not the only ones there. Here they were, the two most quarrelsome people in the whole school, the two that were mostly seen sniping at each other in the hallways, the two that would readily throttle each other; dancing together unknowingly? Laughter rang through the hall, and both of them began to burn in embarrassment.

But this laughter was short-lived. It died abruptly and a nasty silence began as a thousand pairs of eyes watched as Sakura slowly and carefully undid the ribbons that held up her white mask.

* * *

'Focus Syaoran, focus,' he had to repeat to himself as he surveyed Kinomoto without her mask. It was so obviously _Kinomoto._ He cursed. He had been praying and praying that he got it wrong. That it wasn't her. But deep inside, he knew it was. And the truth was staring him blatantly in his face; the trademark force of her eyes was overpowering; even behind her contacts. 

She stared expectantly at him through her thick, long lashes, and the effect was both seductively captivating and silently commanding.

She _knew_.

Syaoran felt heat creep up his collar. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. She was waiting for him to take his mask off. In fact, the whole school was waiting for his next move.

'Remember…the microphone…'

He wasn't going to keep them waiting any longer.

* * *

'No…' 

A gloved hand reaching for the black mask.

'No…'

Pulling the mask off with one sweeping motion.

'No…'

Wintery blue eyes burning holes in her soul.

'NO!'

No matter how much Sakura tried to deny it, it was unmistakably him.

Unmistakable was a bad word to use. Because she _had_ made a mistake. She made a mistake of letting her guard down so easily.

The prince of her dreams was none other than her arch enemy Syaoran Li. She had never truly trusted anyone at first sight before, and now, when she was willing…

But for Sakura Kinomoto…emotions don't come first. There was business to attend to. She saw his eyes flit from her to the microphone, and suddenly she knew what she had to do. His blue eyes caught hers one last time and they didn't seem to have the effect on her like a moment ago. Electricity sparked between their gazes, each hardened by resolve, and sending the same message:

'_I won't let you win._'

In that instant, they both lunged for the microphone.

* * *

"YES!" 

Syaoran's hand found the top of the microphone and quickly yanked it out of the stand, feeling triumphant. But a tug brought him back to earth; Kinomoto had managed to clasp her fingers tightly around the long end.

"Let go!" he muttered crossly, aware that they were being watched by the whole school. This was not the way he had imagined the school would know about their gangs' alliance. It was meant to be a formal and strict ceremony, not a tug-of-war game.

"Give it here!" she hissed back, trying to not make a scene but pulling at the microphone at the same time.

"No! It's mine!" But Kinomoto seemed to be winning. She had more of a hold on the microphone, and was also using two hands as opposed to Syaoran who was only using one.

Syaoran watched her as she attempted to loosen his hold. He could feel the microphone slipping away from him. He needed to do something quickly…but for some reason…he didn't want to do anything yet. She was so close to him…she was so near…it reminded him of the time when they were dancing together. This was the first time he looked into her face since they danced. _Back, back, together, forward, forward, together…_ Those hours seem so far away.

Her eyes bright in concentration, like when she was learning the steps… Her cheeks were flushed, like a few hours ago, when she accidentally stepped on his foot. And she was near…so near… Every inch of her up close reminded Syaoran of their time together. When she smiled she was a whole different person. She had looked so cute, so appealing then…and so looked appealing now…

And that familiar urge to give her a kiss was now stronger than ever.

Inching closer…

'So…'

Tilting his head slightly…

'Cute…'

Closing his eyes…

* * *

She was so absorbed in getting that microphone out of his iron-like grip that she hadn't even noticed his face coming towards her. 

Her eyes instantly fluttered closed when their lips made contact. She was frozen, but was also somehow wrapped in a warm tingling sensation. A light, gentle brush of his lips on hers sent her mind reeling, a whole new feeling she had never experienced before. Her mind was in a state of bliss and she let go of whatever she was holding…she couldn't remember _what_ she was holding…and used both hands to pull those delicious lips back on her own…

What seemed like an eternity lasted for a second. It was only when she finally remembered who was the giver of the kiss that she pushed him away.

Words failed her. The initial shock remained, and the afterglow had not worn off either. Eyes wide, suddenly feeling so vulnerable, terrified of what she felt when he kissed her, suddenly remembering that _the whole school was watching_…

She breathed in ragged, rapid breaths, and they were the only sounds in the still hall. She looked at him. He first wore a bewildered expression but it changed into…a smirk? He shook the microphone a little, his victory in his hand.

"You bastard," she whispered, and picking up her long skirts, not caring what people thought, leapt off the stage in an unladylike fashion.

People parted as she ran through the crowd. She found the back door of the hall and pushed it open, and with tears streaming down her face, she fled into the night.

* * *

"W-ell…" he started, a little shaken. He couldn't believe what he just did. And what was even more surprising was when she kissed back willingly, pulling him in back for more. She had tasted so sweet, so tender, that he was beginning to wish she hadn't pushed him away. Somehow winning this competition wasn't so important anymore. 

"Let go! Stop it…lemme at him!" a hysterical voice said behind him. Daidouji was being held back by Eriol, who was looking beside herself in anger, all claws out, trying to fight Eriol's grip.

"Get off me!" she shouted, struggling. "You have no idea what you did just then, did you! You just stole her first kiss!"

'_First kiss?_ It was her _first kiss_?' A wave of guilt crashed on him. 'I thought…that she might have been already taken…with a face like that…'

'What have I done? And it was against her will as well…'

Trying to swallow the lump forming in his throat, Syaoran turned to face the stunned audience, ignoring Daidouji who was thrashing her arms about, and lifted the microphone to his mouth. He didn't know how to begin. The feeling of her lips grazing his was still fresh in his mind.

"You are all here today to witness the official joining of the gangs Blood Phoenix and Dragoons," he addressed them coldly. They blinked back blankly, not knowing why it was relevant to him.

"I am Syaoran Li," he said, and at once the people broke into murmurs, most of them not believing him.

"Yes, it's true, I am Syaoran Li," he took out one of his blue contacts and casually flicked them away. Even the teachers looked disbelieving.

He laughed quietly. "Still not convinced?" A red ball of flame ignited in his palm.

Straight away, they all shut up.

"And," he said, letting the fire bounce on his hand, "the one who just left our company was Sakura Kinomoto."

Loud gasps sounded. Syaoran Li…was kissing Sakura Kinomoto?

* * *

The fire orb disappeared and Li held his palm up for silence. "As one of the leaders of the new gang, it is unfortunate that she cannot be here to deal with you lot…so I will have to do it," he said it carelessly as if she simply had some appointment to attend to. 

Tomoyo clenched and unclenched her hands. The nerve of him! This wasn't fair at all. She bet Li only danced with Sakura to hurt her like this, to win this stupid thing they agreed on.

'Oh I am going to rip you apart Li,' she thought, 'my poor Sakura…' the image of her best friend with eyes brimming with tears was a good enough reason to send that asshole to hell.

She watched on hopelessly and miserably as Li spoke to the school; Hiiragizawa had wrapped his arms around her to stop her from moving. This was it…she was watching everything Sakura put into Blood Phoenix, every bit of hard work in fighting, scheming, and protecting, crumble under the heading of the Wolves. In the corner of her eye, Meimi was as quiet as she. Tomoyo suddenly felt very tired. She wasn't even concentrating on what Li was saying.

All she thought of was where Sakura ran off to and how she was doing, alone, at night, with no one to comfort her…

'Sakura…please be safe…'

* * *

Eriol could feel Daidouji stop resisting, limp in his arms. 'Poor girl…she must be worried sick about Kinomoto…' He wondered why Syaoran suddenly kissed Kinomoto in front of the whole school. Was it to win the 'competition', or to simply humiliate her? Whatever it was, he thought Syaoran was going a bit far. 'Unless…' 

'He likes her?'

It would be terribly amusing if it was true.

Syaoran's voice continued to sound the hall. "You all should know the consequences if you irritate us…if not, you have been warned. Our patience and values does not change just because we are in one gang. However, there _will _be several changes.

"There will no longer be boundaries between the Dragoons and Blood Phoenix territories. The whole of Tomoeda is now our territory. You will not need to be scared of any more fighting between us, and therefore Penguin Park is also no longer forbidden. You are allowed to be out after dark, and for your safety, do not go beyond the borders of Tomoeda," his tone became serious and he spoke softly, "because one of the reasons of this alliance was for Tomoeda High's safety…

"You may not understand, or even believe it now…but later, you will see that our words are true. Tomoeda, if in different hands, will become a dangerous place…" he said darkly. "You might not like us controlling Tomoeda, but we have never harmed you in any way…

"Under our new gang, Tomoeda High will not fall. Our boundaries will be lost; our differences will be forgotten, and from now on, it will be the reign of-" Syaoran paused for a second, unsure.

'What's stopping him?' Eriol thought, though the answer was clear. Syaoran's amber eyes flickered with what may be emotion. If Eriol guessed right, Syaoran must be thinking of Kinomoto.

But he had to say it. Eriol knew, the whole night; this was what Syaoran was fighting for…

"-the reign of the Wolves."

* * *

The stormy night sky flashed as lighting streaked overhead. Sakura crossed the dirty streets, her beautiful dress filthy with mud. Rain started to pour and all the shops were closed. Only one shop had a light on on the outside. She looked hopefully up at the huge sign. 

"_Mr Mikarzhi's Icecream Parlour"_

Her heart sank. Mr Mikarzhi always had the outside light on, even when the parlour was closed.

The rain got even heavier. 'Damn…guess that this will have to do…' She hurriedly ran towards Mr Mikarzhi's shop, but tripped on the uneven pavement and fell. She tried to get up but stood on the hem of her dress, and the delicate material ripped, making her fall once again against some unstable wooden fencing next to the shop. Her arm stung where she hit the fence and she didn't bother getting up again. Instead, she sat on the muddy ground, not caring about the rain or her dress anymore, and surveyed her surroundings. "This…this is the back of the icecream parlour!" she moaned, seeing all the garbage bins and bags next to her. A blank white wall of the parlour back faced her. Sakura crawled to sit against it; she hugged her knees and curled up into a ball. She was soaked to the bone and her hair was scraggly and wet. Her butterfly wings were bent and were about to fall off. Raindrops leaked through down to her back and she shivered constantly.

Oh how she hated him.

Why did he embarrass her in front of the school?

Why did she let him win so easily?

Why did that kiss taste so warm?

Oh how she hated him.

Her fingertips brushed her lips and the memory was there. Like a feather, the contact was so light. He was gentle…so gentle, that it was quite uncharacteristic of him. And it was very, very uncharacteristic of her to actually long for another kiss from her enemy.

'Stupid girl…pull yourself together…' she buried her head in her arms.

Because it wasn't that simple. Something had stirred in her heart when he kissed her.

'He's your enemy. You cannot feel something for your enemy.'

"No…I can't…" she said aloud.

She never imagined she would give her first kiss up like this. And to him, of all people.

But…

Why..

did it feel so right?

His touch woke something deep inside of her…something she didn't wanted to know…

Oh how she hated him.

'Why did you have to do this to me, Li? If you punched me I could punch you back. If you insult me I could insult you back…

'But if you kiss me…'

The rain continued to pour down, soaking the ground. A rumble of thunder made her shrink back in fear against the wall. Her tears were mixed with the rain.

"I hate you Syaoran Li."

-

'_I hate you._'

* * *

**Sorry if this chapter was confusing coz of the mani scene changes and different POV. Tell me if u dont understand!**

**Oh and tell me if u need a review of the costumes... i cant be bothered putting it here. **

**scarletskies**


	12. Decisions

CCSxSt Tail. Two rival gangs at Tomoeda High; Sakura's and Syaoran's. Both hate each other equally, but what happens when they have to stand side by side against another school? DM ET but especially SS

HIIII!

…are you all mad at me?

…but this chapter was so hard to write!

…and this chapter was very long!

…

…sorry?

Please forgive?

My lovely, lovely reviewers…please come back to me!

Disclaimer: 'tis not mine. No characters r mine, juz the storyline...

**The Ice-cream Parlour: Decisions **

The birds chirped sweetly outside and the sky was blue. Sunlight streamed through the icecream parlour's windows and shone on a lone slouching figure.

Syaoran closed his eyes tiredly. 'Damned birds,' he thought as he laid his head on a jumper he had folded neatly and placed on the counter. He was sitting on one of the bar stools, and looked as if he was about to drop off it any moment. Mr Mikarzhi found him asleep at the front door of the parlour early in the morning, and had invited him in. Syaoran listened to the machines humming and Mr Mikarzhi washing the spoons and cups, ready for a busy day of business.

Syaoran rubbed his eyes and nestled back on his jumper-pillow. He hadn't slept all night. How could he? The image of Kinomoto's hurt expression haunted him every time he closed his eyes and the feeling of her lingered on his lips. And every time he thought of what he did to her he somehow felt very empty, like the guilt was gnawing at him from the inside.

"What's up, Wolfie?"

Mr Mikarzhi leant on the counter. Syaoran propped himself up with an elbow, and Mr Mikarzhi's wizened face came into view. 'Wolfie' was Mr Mikarzhi's nickname for him ever since he was a kid. Though he had liked it then, he hated it now because it made him seem childish. Unfortunately the name stuck and sometimes Syaoran wondered if Mr Mikarzhi called him that out of habit or just to annoy him.

"Nothing much…" It was a lie. A whole lot had changed since his last visit here.

"Really…you look like crap just sitting here," Mr Mikarzhi said, unconvinced. Syaoran hid a smile. One of Mr Mikarzhi's qualities was that he was blunt and to the point.

When Syaoran didn't respond, Mr Mikarzhi decided to change the subject. "How's school?"

"Great."

"Well…if you feel like talking anytime soon, give me a yell 'right buddy?" Mr Mikarzhi gave him a nudge, giving him an encouraging wink with his hazel eyes. "Ease up, eh?"

"Yeah," Syaoran said, settling back on his pillow.

* * *

Eriol hadn't slept all night either. He wandered in, eyelids heavy, paying no attention to the 'Closed' sign at the entrance, the glass door making him jump when it snapped shut behind him.

"You're early," called Mr Mikarzhi from the counter. Eriol acknowledged the figure with a mere nod of his head. Mr Mikarzhi already had an apron on and was wiping the surface down with a tea towel, trying to avoid a disturbingly familiar lump that was hunched over the counter.

"Have a rest…you look like crap too, Eri," Mr Mikarzhi commented, busily at work.

Eriol only nodded dumbly, and ignored Mr Mikaarzhi's nickname for him. 'Eri' was such a girlish, babyish name that usually, he would have said something insultingly witty back; but today, he was just too brain-dead to care.

He pulled out the seat next to Syaoran. His throat seemed very dry because he hadn't opened his mouth to speak to anyone since last night. 'Looks like Syaoran isn't keen to talk either,' he thought, looking at the unmoving body beside him. 'I was right…something unexpected did happen last night…'

Recalling the recent events that occurred, Eriol suddenly felt very unsure and insecure, unlike his usual cool and confident self. All the drama made him feel out of place. The Wolves weren't off to a very good start, and things weren't going well for Eriol either. Last night, he remembered, Daidouji gave him a rather special present.  
.

"_You are all dismissed. Clear out!" Syaoran ended his speech and frightened, everyone rushed for the nearest door. Eriol felt her struggle against him and finally he let her go. Once free, she instantly grabbed his arm, nails digging in, and dragged him backstage. _

"_Hiiragizawa!" she practically yelled. Eriol winced at the volume of her voice as he rubbed his arm. She was a scary sight; her bun was becoming undone and her eyes were icy. _

"_You…you…have no…idea…" she said between huge breaths. _

"_Calm down Daidouji," Eriol said, scared that she'd blow any moment._

"_Calm DOWN?" she sent him a lethal look. Eriol gulped; she usually looked so sweet that he thought she wasn't capable of such a look. "Why the hell did you have to hold me back?"_

"_Because…I didn't want you to shred my best friend into pieces?" _

"_And what about _my_ best friend? He shred _her_ into friggin' pieces!" _

_Eriol knew what she said was true, but nevertheless still defended his friend. "I'm sure Syaoran didn't…didn't mean to… He has his reasons…" _

"_REASONS? Give me a fucking reason why is it okay to lead a girl on, then steal something as precious as a first kiss away from her?" _

"_Er…look, it wasn't that big a deal," he tried to amend his mistake. He certainly wasn't used to Daidouji swearing. _

"_Not…that…big…a deal?" her eyes bulged. Oops. Looks like he just made it worse. _

"_Well…she has to be kissed by sometime…it's just that it was by Syaoran-"_

_SMACK. _

"_You are the most insensitive, uncaring jerk I have ever met," she bit her lip, close to tears. _

_He rubbed his cheek. Her slap didn't hurt but her words sure did. And the sight of her crying _because of him _tore his heart. He reached out a hand but she turned her heel, walking away from him. _

_-_

Eriol buried his head in his hands, the memory fresh and clear; Daidouji's upset face vivid in his mind. "Go away," he moaned, resting in the same position as his troubled friend.

* * *

Asuka pushed the glass doors open and nearly stumbled when he knocked into Mr Mikarzhi, who was holding a tray of glasses and ice-cream cups. The cups wobbled dangerously from the impact and Asuka quickly steadied them before any fell.

"Daiki," Mr Mikarzhi frowned, "be careful…"

Asuka growled in response. "Don't. Call. Me. That." Daiki was Asuka's actual first name, except he never let anyone call him it. Even Syaoran and Eriol call him 'Asuka', his last name. Mr Mikarzhi was the only person, in the whole of Tomoeda, to call him 'Daiki'. Asuka assumed it was just to piss him off.

"Why, Daiki?" Mr Mikarzhi teased good-naturedly.

Asuka had to bite his tongue to stop the abuse from slipping out. He sighed; it was not like it was going to make any difference if he _did_ swear at Mr Mikarzhi; there was no changing him (besides, he had tried this many times before).

He was surprised to see Eriol and Syaoran already there, both motionless, both slouching so that their faces were hidden. Asuka joined their little group and sat in silence. A glimmer of gold flashed past his eye and he jerked his head up to find that it was only the reflection of Mr Mikarzhi's gold watch. Asuka gritted his teeth and slumped back in his seat. He had not had a good night last night, nor a good morning. Whenever something gold and glittery caught his eye, he would suddenly stop and his gaze would immediately follow wherever it went.

He didn't even realize he was doing it. It didn't matter what it was…all morning his head had been snapping in different directions at necklaces, earrings, dog collars, gold rimmed glasses; cars with gold badges; a man's briefcase with gold buckles; a small boy's gold key ring… 'I have some problem…' he had told himself as he walked down the street, his vision getting dizzy from all the activity. And he knew _exactly_ what had caused his problem, or rather, _who_ had started his crazy obsession…

Haneoka, of course. Everything was her fault.

Why did she have to look so good in that gold outfit? She just bumped into his life and sparkled so cutely and turned his life upside down, that deceiving bitch…

And left him stranded like this.

All he wished now was for it to go away. Just like the image of her face would go away every time he closed his eyes.

* * *

"Why all the glum faces?" Mr Mikarzhi smiled broadly at the three depressed boys in front of him, a patch of light reflected on his balding head. He had finished all the preparations for today and he changed the 'Closed' sign to 'Open' on the glass door.

When none of them answered, he pressed on in an attempted-to-be-fatherly tone. "What is it…girl problems?"

"NO!" they all answered too quickly, suddenly springing back to life.

His grin grew bigger. "Can I guess who you're thinking about?"

"Mind your own business," they said sulkily.

"Okey-dokey, if you all insist…" he replied cheerfully, though as he walked away, he started singing 'Love is in the Air' off tune.

The three clapped their hands over their ears.

* * *

As time passed, people began to fill up the icecream parlour quickly. The hustle bustle blur of the crowd moved around Syaoran, Eriol and Asuka, who remained firmly seated on their bar stools. People came and went. Eager little children holding their pocket money in their small hands for a single cone. Happy couples sharing the 'Lovers' Special' topped with cherries and syrup. Teenagers hanging around in groups, drinking sundaes and laughing the day away. Grandparents sipping their cappuccinos peacefully, treating their grandchildren to their first banana boat.

Syaoran watched on with mild interest. He remembered the first day he was here; the day Mr Mikarzhi's shop had just opened. He had watched them refurnish that shop for a while, and he swore to himself that he would be Mr Mikarzhi's first customer.

_He clutched the five dollar bill in his sweaty hand, watching the sign on the door change from 'Closed' to finally, 'Open'. This was it. He had watched them for months now; repainting the window frames, carrying bits of wood, putting in new chairs and tables, installing electrical equipment, replacing the shop front with glass windows…he had watched them from a distance, up on the apple tree opposite. The shop was small, old and tucked away into the corner; nobody gave much interest as they passed by, nobody noticed what it was going to be turned into; nobody but him. He had been waiting, waiting, for the paint to dry, for the chairs to be turned the right side up and arranged around the table, for the milkshake machine to start humming…and today, today was the day. His heart sped up considerably as he was ready to push open that glass door…_

_And was roughly pushed _aside

"_Touyaaa!" a girlish voice giggled excitedly, "it's OPEN!" _

"_What's open?" an older boy answered._

"_The icecream shop I told you about," she said with a hint of annoyance in her voice. "You don't remember anything I tell you, do you?" _

"'_Course not, Monster." _

"_Argh! Don't call me Monster! I'm not going to give you the money for your icecream!"_

"_Since when did you get money?"_

"_Dad gave before we left. You were trying to tie your stupid shoelaces," she stuck out her tongue. _

_Syaoran sat on the pavement and watched in absolute amazement as the girl breezed past him and stomped inside. The amazement soon turned to absolute anger and he quickly picked himself up and rushed inside, only to see the girl reaching up for the first ever, icecream cone sold by Mr Mikarzhi. His insides boiled with resentment. How dare she push him aside like that? _

_Then he saw the older boy called Touya at the register, about to order. Without a single thought, he hastily pushed in front of him, and blurted out, "One chocolate single cone please," slapping the money on the counter, breathing heavily. Mr Mikarzhi smiled down at him, and he looked away a bit embarrassed. _

"_There's plenty for everyone," Mr Mikarzhi assured him, and he turned a bright red. Though he didn't turn around, he could feel Touya's furious stare burning into his back. _

_As he waited for his icecream, he gave a sideways glance at the girl who was waiting for Touya. Her hair was a light brown, though with tints of red, and big, green eyes blinked happily as she licked her strawberry cone. Who the hell does she think she is? 'Stupid girl,' he thought. _

_Mr Mikarzhi called him back to the counter for his chocolate icecream, handing him the cone and giving him the change. Syaoran turned to walk out of the shop, but as he headed towards the door, he purposefully knocked the girl's shoulder. _

_A scream of surprise told him she had dropped her icecream, and he turned his head around slightly and triumphantly to watch her cry. To his astonishment those big green eyes stared back at him, memorizing his face, absorbing his features. _

"_I'll get you back," she vowed in an unforgiving tone, her voice cool but her eyes ablaze. _

_Syaoran gave an 'as-if' smirk and exited._

_The door snapped shut_

_-_

Oh yes. And that was also the day he made Kinomoto his enemy. Syaoran stopped himself abruptly. Did everything he thought of have to lead to Kinomoto? Maybe he should stop thinking. Or get something to occupy his attention. Or maybe just don't look at anything at all. He closed his eyes and let the darkness consume him.

But then he felt it, and his eyes opened in shock. Kinomoto's aura? It was…on his left. He quickly spun around on his bar chair, which wasn't a really good idea because he nearly toppled over. Eriol and Asuka perked up at his bizarre behaviour, but he didn't care. He could see her at the door clearly through the glass. He steadied himself and waited for her to come in. He didn't know why he wanted her to come in, but he felt he owed her an explanation about last night. Even though he didn't know how to explain himself…

But why wasn't she coming in? He watched her in anticipation. The sunlight highlighted the fact that the temporary dark brown dye in her long hair hadn't washed out yet. She reached for the door handle but she hesitated, and for some reason, turned and walked away.

He tried to swallow the huge lump in his throat. Did she hesitate because she felt his aura in here? At once, a wave of guilt washed over him. Of course, she wouldn't come in, after what he did to her. Damnit, why did he care? It was just Kinomoto, after all…

"Syaoran," Eriol's worn-out voice reached his ears, "we're leaving now…you coming?"

"Huh? Yeah…" His friends stood up and straightened out their clothing, and he did the same. But as he followed Eriol and Asuka out, something held him back. The guilt pulled at him, clawed at his shirt and his chest felt heavy.

"Hey, guys...you go on ahead, alright? I got something I gotta do…" Syaoran dug his hands in his pockets, hoping he didn't sound suspicious. "I'll meet up at Eriol's house later."

They didn't even ask. They left the parlour, hair disheveled and eyes empty like zombies, stumbling as they walked down the street.

Syaoran made sure they had disappeared past the corner before he made his way to the register.

"Yes? What would you like, Wolfie?" Mr Mikzarhi in a jolly voice.

"Uh…" Syaoran racked his brain. What was that disgusting flavour of icecream she liked?

"Um…pink…gooey stuff…" he managed to remember. Mr Mikarzhi peered at him with curiosity. "You mean…strawberry?"

"Yeah, that," he said, taking out his wallet.

Mr Mikarzhi smiled a knowing smile.

* * *

_The cloaked man stood behind the icecream parlour and observed the blank wall with interest. At the bottom left corner, were words scratched on the wall with a sharp stone. It was undoubtedly her handwriting. _

"_Well, well, well…" he said, reading what she wrote, "You hate him, do you, Miss Kinomoto?" _

_Pausing as he read the following sentence. "He kissed you?" _

_This was getting interesting. He rubbed his hands together excitedly. The plan was going smoothly. _

* * *

Tomoyo's House

Sakura was stretched out on the couch, watching Tomoyo take out the rented videos. From her position, she could peek through the gaps of the closed curtains. The night sky was a deep blue, but Tomoyo's front yard had so many garden lamps that it didn't seem dark outside.

She didn't really want to come to Tomoyo's house today. She felt exhausted; mostly because she hadn't a wink of sleep last night. She was tossing and turning for god knows how long, and it wasn't before daybreak that she finally snuggled beneath the covers. All night, she kept repeating to herself that she hated him, that she hated him, hated him, until she got sick of the words. Because if she didn't remind herself she hated him, thoughts of him would slowly seep into her head; thoughts of that kiss would invade her mind. It was when finally, she repeated it so much that it felt as if all her hate towards him had run out, she fell asleep, drained of all energy.

Or it _could_ simply be the fact that she nearly, nearly bumped into _him_ this afternoon.

But Tomoyo had insisted that she must come, because she '-needs to take a break-' and because '-Meimi is at her gymnastics lesson today, I'm all alone-' and '-there is this new movie out-'… Sakura could see through all these lame excuses and knew Tomoyo was just doing her best to cheer her up. So despite feeling so down, here she was, at Tomoyo's house.

"What do you want to watch, Sakura?" Tomoyo interrupted her thoughts. Tomoyo switched on the television and the bright screen flickered on.

"I don't care," she replied listlessly. She played with the hem of her top and sighed.

"What's the matter?" Tomoyo asked, concerned, though she could probably guess the answer.

"Nothing…"

"Liar."

"I…"

Tomoyo frowned. "It's Li, again, isn't it?"

Sakura hung her head. "I saw him, or rather, felt his aura today at the icecream parlour."

"And…?" Tomoyo said questioningly.

"And nothing. I didn't go in," she told Tomoyo, "so nothing happened."

Tomoyo was silent, not knowing what to say, not knowing which words of comfort she should use.

Sakura continued to pick at the hem. "Just knowing he was near me got me so messed up. And…it wasn't all feelings of hate either, which is what I'm most worried about," she confessed softly, "I don't know what's happening to me…I'm just tired, I guess."

Tomoyo's comforting hand slid over her fidgeting ones. "Look, you're probably feeling confused because he…did what he did to you last night. You can't erase what happened, and obviously, it's hard to forget it at the moment. So, the most effective method of healing I propose for you now is…"

Sakura's expression was one of puzzlement. "Yes?"

"Shoving the memory ruthlessly aside for some SUN, SURF, SAND, and some HALF-NAKED BOYS to perve on!" Tomoyo had risen up with her fist in the air, an energetic gleam in her eyes.

"You mean…the _beach_?" Sakura said dully.

Tomoyo took this as an offense and gasped. "What do you mean, the _beach_, in that ungrateful tone?" She waved a finger in Sakura's face. "Me and Meimi have already decided on going tomorrow, so you have to come, whether you like it or not!"

"Ehh…"

"Well, aren't we enthusiastic?" Tomoyo said impatiently. "You know, the sea breeze is really reenergizing."

"Really…"

"And I _know_ that you're free tomorrow, so-"

"But-"

"No buts!"

"_Tomoyo_!"

"Yes dear?"

"I don't want to go to the beach tomorrow," Sakura grumbled.

"Give me a valid reason, and I'll think about letting you off the hook."

"Well, I…I just don't want to go!" she stammered, exasperated.

Tomoyo pretended to think hard, tapping her chin. Then she said even more brightly, "Nope! Not a valid reason at all! You need the fresh air and you need to soak up some sun! You need to let all the frustration and uncertainties out!"

Sakura was about to protest again when the doorbell rang. Tomoyo took the opportunity to skip out of the room to answer the door, thus preventing Sakura from complaining further. Sakura, not giving up so easily, followed her.

Tomoyo opened the front door to a man in a blue and red jacket with a matching cap. She peered curiously at the man on her doorstep.

"Delivery for a Miss Daidouji?" he said with a thick accent, looking from Tomoyo to Sakura, offering a pen to both of them.

"Yes…" Tomoyo accepted the pen and signed the papers, but was still completely mystified. "What is it, I wonder?"

The man handed over a huge bouquet of flowers. Sakura sniggered. "Ooh Tomo's got an admirer!"

Tomoyo's cheeks tinted a light pink and she proceeded to read the card inside, which contained two simple words:

'_Forgive me?' _

She smiled slightly and warmth glowed inside. She then turned to the man who was still standing there looking a bit flustered. "Yes?" she inquired.

"Uh…is there…is there a Miss Kinomoto here?" he said nervously, "because I'm supposed to deliver something to her…but when I got there her father said she wasn't at home and I should find her here," he explained all this in a rush.

Sakura peeked meekly from behind Tomoyo. "Father's back from his business trip?"

The delivery man nodded. "He told me Miss Kinomoto would be here."

Sakura took the pen and signed the form handed to her. Tomoyo gave her a teasing look. "I suppose _you_ have an admirer too, then?"

"Don't be stupid," Sakura said as the man gave her a flat, square box. He took the papers back and lifted his cap, and then bade them goodbye.

"I wonder what it is…" The two girls walked into the kitchen, each with a mysterious gift in their arms. Sakura untied the string while Tomoyo took out a vase from the kitchen cupboard.

"So, did you find out who it was from?" Tomoyo asked, filling the vase with tap water at the sink.

Sakura didn't answer.

Tomoyo turned, anxious because of the silence, to find Sakura staring at an enormous, beautifully made, flower-shaped strawberry icecream cake, trimmed with vanilla icing and decorated with strawberry syrup. Tomoyo made her way over to Sakura, who was frozen in shock. On the cake was a single word made out of pink Smarties:

'_Sorry_.'

Sakura was apparently speechless. Tomoyo looked over the cake thoughtfully. "Well, he is very _thorough_ in this," she commented.

Sakura remained expressionless.

"Just look at all the pink Smarties he used," Tomoyo pointed out, "he must have bought at least three packets of Smarties to have enough pink ones to spell out the word."

Sakura thought very hard, for a long time.

She finally found her voice. "Tomoyo…?" she said, playing with her long ponytail which was still a bit brown from the temporary dye used last night.

"Yes?" Tomoyo said gently.

"Can…can you cut my hair? Now?" she said, running her hands through the long strands of her hair.

Tomoyo took a sharp breath in. "What!"

"Please?" she pleaded, her big green eyes suddenly filling up with tears.

Tomoyo took a step back. It was extremely rare for Sakura to burst in tears for no exact reason (unless under certain circumstances, such as last night). She was always the strong one, and if she did cry, nobody would know about it.

"I'm…I'm not going to do it," Tomoyo said firmly, "I'm not going to cut your beautiful, long hair just because you tell me to. You're emotionally unstable! As your personal stylist, I'm not recommending it!"

"Please?" there was a tremor in her voice, "I think there are going to be some changes in my life…"

Sakura looked up and Tomoyo felt her heart tightened.

"…and maybe, just maybe…I'm not going to regret it."

* * *

**Syaoran: Hey! Give me back my Smarties! They're for Sakura, you hear! --grabs Scarlet by the collar--**

**Scarlet: (drunk on chocolate) teeheehee... --drools and laughs hysterically--**

**-**

**btw, you thought i've forgotten about the mysterious cloaked man, didn't you? well i HAVEN'T! HAHAHA...**

…

**R&R**

**scarletskies**


	13. Say My Name

CCSxSt Tail. Two rival gangs at Tomoeda High; Sakura's and Syaoran's. Both hate each other equally, but what happens when they have to stand side by side against another school? DM ET but especially SS

Hey lovely beautiful fantastical reviewers! I'm nearly on term break…and I have work placement thingy at the moment! And I have a ski trip on the holz…cant wait for that ! I don't know why but this story is getting harder to write…maybe coz the mini emotional 'climax' of the masquerade is over…but hey! Here's chappie 13!

Lotsa questions concerning Sakura's decision to cut her hair – hopefully its all cleared up in this chapter. I really, really, suck explaining things. Well anyways, I hope you all get it, and no, **Tinaptran**, Sakura is not going to turn into a _man_, and **Illusion Dragon**, I _did_ give Syaoran back his Smarties…(after withstanding many hours of his begging and pleading..but come on, who can resist him:P)

And thanks you every reviewer, I truly appreciate every single one of your reviews, and of course, tell me if you don't get any part of my story, or there are some loose ends that I've simply forgotten…

Because it happens; I am getting old -.-

Disclaimer: 'tis not mine. No characters r mine, juz the storyline...

**The Ice-cream Parlour: Say My Name**

Sakura woke up to a knock on her bedroom door.

"Eh?" she sat up, eyes half open.

"Sakura, there's a phone call for you," Fujitaka opened to door and handed her the phone.

"Oh…" she put her ear against the wrong end, and her father flipped it the right way up and she smiled her thanks as he shut the door.

"Who is it?" she asked groggily.

"SAKURA!"

Sakura jolted awake immediately. Tomoyo's voice should be used for her alarm clock.

"Yes, Tomoyo?" she said weakly.

"GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE IN TEN MINUTES OR ELSE I'M COMING UP AND DRAGGING YOU DOWN."

'Down?' thought Sakura. She looked out of the window and found Tomoyo and Meimi on their bikes in front of her house. Meimi waved up at her cheerily.

"HOEEEEE…"

* * *

She got out of the shower and dressed at world record speed and was about the reach for her hairbrush when she stopped and stared at the mirror. 

A girl with short auburn hair blinked back. Sakura realized it was very much like her hairstyle when she was in elementary school: short and choppy at the back, then more lengthy layers at the front that reached her chin. She patted her hair to test if it was really there. 'Tomoyo did a good job…' she thought, relieved and a bit sad at the same time.

"Sad? I shouldn't be sad…" she murmured, touching the mirror lightly and tracing her reflection with the tip of her finger. After all, she cut her hair…because she wanted put the past behind her. The past with Li, anyway. It was hard to explain, and she found it hard to believe herself, but she was willing to give Li a chance.

o

"_Sakura, are you absolutely, totally, positively sure about this?" Tomoyo stood behind Sakura, scissors in her right hand. Sakura sat in front of Tomoyo's vanity, her eyes now completely dry of tears. _

"_Yes," she replied, her voice firm. _

"_Can you at least give me a reason why?" Tomoyo asked softly, hands placed on Sakura's shoulders. _

"_I said it before…I want to…" pausing for a few seconds, "…change." _

_Tomoyo frowned slightly. "Change?"_

_Sakura pondered for a while on how she was going to break the news. _

"_I don't hate Li…" she blurted out at last, those words sounding foreign even to her own ears, "…anymore," she added. _

_Tomoyo didn't know whether to laugh or cry. After all, Sakura had once claimed she had hated him all her life, and would continue doing so until the day she died. _

_Looking at Tomoyo's half-smile, Sakura finally grinned sheepishly too. "I don't know how to put it into words…but I know now, at least, he is not that bad a person if he knows how to apologize." _

_Tomoyo nodded briefly, encouraging her to go on. _

_Sakura looked down at her folded hands on her lap. "I know…I know…he was dancing with me yesterday…because he liked the way I looked," she said quietly, "so I also want to change my appearance too, because if I am to settle things with him, I want to start afresh. I don't want him being friends with me because of my appearance…it's not what I'm after." _

"_So…you want to cut your hair because…you want to change your appearance as you change your feelings towards Li. And also because you don't want him to like you based on what's on the outside?" Tomoyo said slowly, processing, "did I get it right?" _

"_Yeah," Sakura confirmed, "If I start anew, I can put the past with him behind me and start over." _

"_Sakura…Li is a jerk," Tomoyo said bluntly, "look what he has done to you over all these years!" _

"_Yup. And look at what _I've_ done to _him_ all these years!" Sakura smirked mischievously (fondly remembering the many times she had set his hair on fire)._

_Tomoyo was persistent. "What about what he did to you yesterday, huh?" _

_Sakura smiled. "It was the first time he apologized. Any human capable of laying down his pride and apologizing is worth a chance. Come on, Tomo, I can't believe _I'm_ the one persuading you on this." _

_Tomoyo threw her hands up into the air. "Fine. It's your life," she said, defeated, "but don't come complaining to me." _

_Sakura shrugged, "Complaining about what? I haven't even decided if I'm gonna be friends with him yet…" _

"_Whatever you say, girl, whatever you say…" _

"_So…how are you going to cut-" Sakura started, gripping the edge of her seat._

"_Don't you even WORRY." Tomoyo raised the scissors and made wild snip-snip movements. "I have the perfect hairstyle stored in my head," she cackled hungrily, "Meimi is going to be sooo surprised tomorrow!" _

_Sakura sweatdropped. There weren't many things she was scared of in her life; but the enthusiastic Tomoyo with scissors in her hand was one of them. _

"_You ready?"_

_Sakura's voice, unwavering: _

"_Yes." _

* * *

Sakura zoomed around the kitchen, grabbing toast, juice, keys, bag, money. "Dad, it's great that you're back. But I'm going out today. ("That's alright, honey. Just make sure you be careful out there.") I'm going to the beach. Don't worry about lunch. I'll be home for dinner. Thanks. Bye!" she whizzed through the house, heading out. 

"Wait a sec-" someone grabbed her the collar of her shirt and she was jerked roughly back. "Hey! What's the big idea-" she turned around to face the glare of her older brother. "Touya!" she yelled, annoyed, "lemme go!"

He sighed and feigned a hurt expression. "I'm offended. I go to a faraway uni, I study hard, I miss my family terribly, work my ass off at the café to save some money for a train ticket, come back for one day and that's what you say to me?"

Sakura threw her half-eaten toast at his face and he caught it and put the unbitten end in his mouth. "Argh! As if you came by train…you probably just drove here. Your university is only a twenty minute drive away!" she exclaimed.

Touya shrugged. "Don't you miss your beloved older brother?"

"No."

"Ouch." He put a hand on his chest with an almost-believable sad look. "Oh, and by the way, nice haircut."

"Piss off Touya," Sakura was about to storm out when there was another tug at her shirt.

'Where do you think you're going?" he said.

"Ever heard of the BEACH? I'm already LATE, so LET GO, damnit!"

"The beach? Hmm…interesting…" Touya rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I'm coming too!"

"WHAT! No way!" Sakura struggled against his hold on her shirt. "Why!"

"You need to be supervised, kid," Touya grinned.

"Don't call me 'kid'! I bet you just want to perve on all the girls in bikinis, you sick bastard!"

"Hmm…maybe," he said wickedly, releasing her, "wait for me outside while I pack my stuff…if you leave I'll personally dismantle your dearly loved motorbike when you get home."

Sakura grumbled as she hastily ran out the door, meeting Tomoyo and Meimi at the front gate.

"What took you so long, Saku?" Tomoyo said breezily, putting her fashionably huge sunglasses on top of her head, while Meimi 'oohed' and 'aahed' at Sakura's haircut.

"Mybrotheriscoming," she mumbled.

"What?"

"My brother is friggin' coming with us," Sakura said darkly.

"Your BROTHER? He's hot!" Meimi squealed, clapping her hands and jumping up and down.

Sakura groaned. "Please, I don't want to hear any of it."

"Fine…" Meimi turned to Tomoyo, "he's sooo hot, isn't he?"

"Yep. Hot. Hot, hot, HOT-" Tomoyo yelped as Sakura chased her around their stationary bikes.

* * *

"I can't _believe_ you persuaded me to come here," said Syaoran, dragging his feet in the sand. 

Eriol spread his arms out wide optimistically, a completely different person from yesterday. "Lighten up, will ya? The sky is blue, the sun is high…"

"I can't help but feel you have something planned behind my back," Syaoran grumbled. He was wearing a black tee and orange shorts, which really wasn't a good idea because the black was absorbing the sun's heat, making him feel hot and bothered.

"Nah…we just decided to come 'cause we need to relax," stated Asuka, who looked very casual and different without his usual school tie, instead sporting a white singlet and green board shorts. "Eriol called last night and asked and I agreed…'cause you know, we didn't look…exactly alive yesterday."

"Yeah…" Syaoran looked down, remembering the reason why. 'Kinomoto…' And then he looked up at the sky, shielding his eyes from the sun. 'Why did I even bother… ?'

"Come on, Syaoran," Asuka called from a short distance. "Eriol's taking us some place that has some shade so we can put down our stuff."

"Yeah…coming…" he said, trudging along.

* * *

Sakura parked her bike and followed her friends, taking in the view. The sun now high at midday and the surface of the sea glittered serenely, small waves crashing on shore. Seagulls were flying above in the perfectly blue, cloudless sky, searching for food. The sand was warm and reflected a blinding white. The beach today wasn't crowded at all; only a few striped umbrella dotted the shores. 

'Where did Tomoyo go…' she thought, yawning a bit as she squinted at the white sand, scanning the beach in search of her friends. Seeing them already setting their stuff down in the nearby shade, she ran towards them, but stopped when she saw her friends' figures stiffen.

And when she reached them she saw the reason why.

Three males stood in front of them, larger than life, their auras ablaze with power. To anyone, it was somewhat intimidating, but Sakura Kinomoto held her chin high.

"Li." She acknowledged him with the slightest tip of her head.

"Kinomoto." His steely stare never leaving her own.

"Hiiragizawa."

"Daidouji."

"Asuka."

"Haneoka."

The names ricocheted like bullets, back and forth, as they stood face to face, building up the tension. The sun glared down on the six, but not one of them twitched.

At last, Tomoyo broke the silence. "You know what? This is just so stupid…" she exclaimed, giving Eriol the crucial 'help me' look.

"I agree," Eriol said hastily. 'Here's your cue, Daidouji…this better work like we planned last night…or all the rehearsing will go to waste!'

"We are supposed to be in the same gang! This…behaviour…will simply not do," Tomoyo said.

"I have the _greatest_ idea," she continued, clasping her hands together, looking very animate compared to the rest of the group who all stared at her with their eyebrows raised.

"Why not skip the formalities and…" she paused for dramatic effect, "call each other on a first-name basis?"

"What are you getting at Daidouji…" Syaoran said coldly.

"Tomoyo," she corrected, "It seems more friendly doesn't it, if we use our first names."

"Why would we want to be 'friendly'" Meimi scrunched up her nose.

"We need some…co-operation within this gang, don't we, if we are planning to defeat the Sharks," Eriol said smoothly, "and we need to start somewhere. It has to start by us calling each other by our first names."

"You know, it seems like you have planned this, Eriol," Syaoran said suspiciously. Eriol gave him a half-shrug that didn't really reply his question.

Asuka dropped his jaw in horror. "You mean I have to call Haneoka…M-Mei-" Throughout all the years of hating her, he had never used her first name once.

"It's Meimi, you retard," Meimi said frostily. "What, so I have to call him 'Daiki'?" she turned to Tomoyo, not directly addressing him.

"Asuka will remain…Asuka," Eriol cut in, "we call him that ourselves anyway."

"What! Is that injustice or what?" Meimi stormed off, and Asuka, discovering the fact that she's annoyed because he can use her first name (and she can't use his), ran after her, repeating her name with glee as she clapped her hands over her ears while yelling abuse at him.

Eriol turned to Tomoyo, bowing gentlemanly, "Delighted to have your acquaintance, Miss Tomoyo," he held out his palm.

Tomoyo refrained herself from giggling and replied courteously, "The pleasure is all mine, Eriol," she curtsied.

"You two really _did_ plan this, didn't you?" Sakura sent them both death glares, ones that could match Syaoran's.

Syaoran swore and was ready to launch himself at Eriol, but Eriol ducked skillfully.

"You two just need to get used to the idea," Tomoyo said, "stop being so stubborn! Maybe we should go and let you two think about it for a while…let's go for a walk, shall we, _Eriol_?"

"Let's go and buy some icecream, _Tomoyo_," Eriol emphasized her name strongly and they walked off with smiles plastered on their faces.

Which left Sakura and Syaoran standing there.

A gust of wind whistled past.

"They do have a point, you know," Syaoran began quietly.

"What!"

"It _does_ promote…a sense of 'unity'…we need to set the example for Asuka and…Meimi."

"I will never call you anything but 'Li'!" Sakura shook her head stubbornly.

"I can't believe you're being so childish! I don't care if you do it because you want to, but frankly, you have a duty to the gang," he said, "Look you stupid bitch, if I'm willing to accept it, then so will you!"

"Who are you calling a bitch?" a hand landed on Syaoran's shoulder. Syaoran's reflexes made him grab that hand, ready to flip the person behind him but Sakura sent him a warning look.

"It's nothing, Touya," she said calmly, her eyes trained on Syaoran's face, "he's like that."

"Oh yeah? Well _I_ don't like it," Touya tightened his hold and he was surprised the kid's grip tightened also. The first time Touya ever laid eyes on this kid, he disliked him; he recognized him as the kid that pushed in front of him at Mr Mikarzhi's icecream parlour, the kid that knocked Sakura's icecream over, and the kid that bullied his little sister. And now, he was the kid who was calling his sister a 'bitch'.

And really, something had to be done. The kid had always managed to slip out of his grasp, and today, he was going to get it.

Sakura read her brother's facial features and knew what was coming. "Touya," Sakura said a little louder this time, "It's fine. I'm sure you've met…_Syaoran_," she tested the name carefully, watching Syaoran's expression of shock, and smiled inwardly.

"Uh…" Syaoran brushed the hand off his shoulder and turned around to face Touya. "_Sakura_ and I are friends…I was just kidding around," he played along.

"Really…" Touya looked at Sakura disbelievingly, and she nodded quickly.

Not even getting support from his sister, Touya backed away, but eyed Syaoran with a guarded expression. "You…watch out," was all he said, and stomped off in a huff.

"Right…" Syaoran said, then turning to Sakura, "You didn't have to do that, you know…I could have just-" but he stopped, discovering she was already walking away.

* * *

"Will you shut up and quit following me?" Meimi yelled, running as fast as her legs would allow. 

"Why, oh _Meimi_? You're such an interesting person to talk to, _Meimi_. I wouldn't dream of any other place I want to be, _Meimi_…" Asuka merrily rattled on, keeping up with her with ease.

Meimi gave a hysterical shriek of annoyance and stopped short, finally figuring out she couldn't possibly get away from him.

Asuka, who was babbling on, stopped just in time. He blinked. She was so close he could smell the scent of her shampoo from her hair. It was a sweet, vanilla scent that suddenly washed over him and he had the sudden urge to grasp her long ponytail and breathe it in.

Meimi whirled around, about to scream in his face to leave her alone but found her face centimetres from his chest. She felt herself blush at the closeness but didn't understand why. "It's just Asuka…" she muttered, hastily withdrawing herself.

Did he just hear right? Asuka froze in surprise, hearing her say his name softly for the first time. It was always "ASUKA! YOU RETARD" or "ASUKAAA YOU BLOODY IDIOT" on the top of her lungs that it felt…weird to hear it. It was a different feeling of weird though; like a slight drumming in his chest; a light fluttering in his stomach.

"Say that again…" he said slyly.

"What?" her head snapped towards him.

"Say my name again…"

"Huh?" she looked at him as if he was crazy.

"Say my name…with that sexy, breathy, soft voice of yours," he said with a wicked smile.

Meimi flushed red and nearly choked. "M-my-"

Asuka burst out laughing, but his mirth was cut short when Meimi hurled a handful of sand in his direction.

"You BITCH!" he rasped, coughing and spitting out sand.

Meimi giggled and stuck her tongue out, then ran off.

"COME BACK HERE!" Asuka yelled, quickly recovering, and went tearing after her, her laughter floating in his ears.


	14. The Rescue

CCSxSt Tail. Two rival gangs at Tomoeda High; Sakura's and Syaoran's. Both hate each other equally, but what happens when they have to stand side by side against another school? DM ET but especially SS

Sorry for late updates. Really, it's hard to write interesting. How do people do it? How do they write so that the readers can visualize what the hell the author's imagining? Tell me if my story is working…im finding it hard to lets the words flow.

Disclaimer: 'tis not mine. No characters r mine, juz the storyline...

**The Ice-cream Parlour: The Rescue **

A boy crept down low and crouched behind a bush, and he signaled for a girl to follow. The girl was dressed in a beige bikini with a lemon yellow sarong wrapped around her waist, which she had to hold up with difficulty to sneak around. They finally found a huge tree a little away from the beach, and hid behind it, breathing a sigh of relief that they didn't get caught by their not-so-attentive friends.

"You did it, you genius!" Eriol's mouth brushed Tomoyo's cheek lovingly. Her slender arms circled his waist and he could feel her smile into his shoulder.

"Just doing what I had to do. Now I can finally call you…_Eriol_…" she gazed up into his eyes and he was about to kiss her again but she slapped him gently on the forehead.

"Silly, our job isn't finished yet…" she grinned at his disappointed look. "Don't worry…we'll have plenty of time for _that_," she promised, "But right now-"

"Yeah, yeah, we have to perform the 'good deed' for our misguided friends," Eriol put on a saintly face and released her from his embrace. "Let's get this over and done with so we can move on to more…_interesting_ _things_, shall we?"

Not missing the hints of pink on Tomoyo's cheeks, he laughed quietly and turned to look past the tree they were hiding behind. He spotted Syaoran lying on some flat rocks on the beach, not very far away from them, reading a book. "I can only find Syaoran…I can't find Meimi or Asuka…they must have ran off somewhere," he hissed to Tomoyo.

"Let's do this one pair at a time…Sakura's over there!" Tomoyo whispered back, pointing out to sea. Eriol noticed a figure floating on the surface of the water, and instantly felt a strong power emitting from that person. "Sakura's using Float, I think," Tomoyo said, whipping binoculars out of nowhere. "She usually does that when we go to the local swimming pool…"

Eriol muffled a laugh. "You mean…she doesn't know how to stay afloat by herself?"

Tomoyo slapped him with the back of her hand, this time a little harder. "Shut up meanie…it's only one of her _few _weaknesses…and don't you DARE tell anyone!"

Eriol reassured her that he wouldn't (not forgetting how scary she was when she's angry) and something in his head clicked.

"You said…she can't swim?" he asked, and Tomoyo nodded, face still glued to the binoculars.

"I think I have _just_ the idea…"

* * *

Syaoran was entertaining himself with a book. The title read: 'Ways to Deal With Your Insanely Annoying Friends', and he was quite interested at first, with words such as 'stab' and 'suffocate' and 'poison darts' in each paragraph. But then his mind would drift off to Saku-Kinomoto, and how she had pointedly ignored him, and gone off swimming by herself leaving him all alone on the wide stretch of sand, leaving him to wonder if she ever accepted the apology he kindly took his wallet out for. 

He spied her at the corner of his eye, sun bathing on the surface of the water (it was Float, he recognized. 'She doesn't know how to swim?' he had snickered.), her pink and white striped two-piece extremely eye-catching in the vast blue ocean. Well, it was eye-catching to him anyway.

Quietly observing the enemy. That's what Syaoran called it. He glanced over his book every so often, each time taking a longer peek, and more frequent. Eventually he couldn't even concentrate on the book. The single words he read mashed together into an unintelligible sense. She wasn't _really_ that unattractive. He had been calling her that since forever but deep in there somewhere he knew she was anything but unattractive. And his mistake at the Masquerade clearly proved that. He wondered what Sak-Kinomoto thought of him at the Masquerade, but then grimaced and thought he better not think about it, considering what he did to her.

"Right…back to the book," he mumbled, diverting his eyes onto the page.

But then, she was looking quite cute, if he dare say, with her new haircut. He recognized it as a similar hairstyle to the one she had in elementary school, but now with it she looked anything but childish. The layers made it princess-like but the blunt edges gave an attitude. The cropped style showed-off her slender neck, exposing smooth skin, and now that the dark brown dye had completely washed out, the beautiful auburn was richer than ever. The tints of red and brown were especially brighter in the sunlight, he observed as his gaze traveled over the edge of the book again; he promptly smacked his forehead for the lack of control over his own eyes.

Oh yes. Back to that book.

* * *

Under Touya's watchful eye, he did not miss the brat's subtle, momentary glances at Sakura. 'That little pervert,' he growled, forgetting that was what Sakura called _him_ moments before, 'nobody looks at my sister like that!' 

Touya cracked his knuckles and was ready to march straight over there and tap the brat on the shoulder, but suddenly stopped. He suddenly had an uncontrollable urge for…

…icecream?

Touya grumbled. The icecream truck was in the opposite direction, half a kilometre away near the carpark. "Lucky bastard…you just wait…" He was sure that the brat would still be there when he got back, 'reading his book'. He turned and left, not realizing his mistake.

* * *

Sakura stared aimlessly at the sky. The water was cool and soothing on her back as she floated along, not caring where the waves took her. 

_Sakura and I are friends…_

"Wouldn't that be nice if it were true, Li," she said to the wind. Although she told Tomoyo she had forgiven him, and she promised herself that she would give him a chance, seeing him again so soon made her feel uneasy.

"Li…"

"Li Syaoran…"

"Syaoran…"

The words were murmured and they sank deep beneath the ocean.

She needed some peace, away from him.

Sakura closed her eyes and stretched her limbs as far as possible, like a human starfish, enjoying the feeling of the sun warming her skin, and the feeling of the water carrying her further away from the shore. The waves pushing her…pushing her…pushing her…perhaps, a little too hard. The water around her jostled at her sides, trying to drive her under. She was numb with shock as a wave completely smothered her and Sakura suddenly found herself underwater, and for some reason, a force was holding her back from breaking through to the surface.

'Shit!' Sakura started to panic and felt her own Float magic slipping away from her, her mind was too scattered to focus. Fighting with all her might her fist broke through the seemingly solid surface and she quickly took a gasp of air. Flailing her arms about, she anxiously tried to find the direction of the shore, but the energy drained from her as she faced a wave as high as a two-storey building. The rush of water crashed over her head again and like before, while underwater, an unnatural force was fighting against her, this time pulling her downwards. Something invisible in the water was grabbing her ankles and was tugging her towards the bottom of the sea. Sakura shook off the clutches and struggled to swim up. She squeezed her eyes shut as she felt air escape from her. 'Float…Float…lend me…your strength…'

Oxygen filled her lungs; sweet, pure oxygen that made her dizzy. Her vision focused and the bright sky greeted her. It was definitely magic. She could sense it, and it was, without a doubt, from an extremely strong and highly skilled source. She paled as yet another wave towered over her, accidentally swallowing some seawater in the process. 'Help…I need help…' Her body was sore and tired and she had no energy to fight. She didn't even know _what_ she was fighting against. 'Somebody…'

The wall of water hurtled down and she screamed the first name that was on her mind before she was plunged into darkness.

"SYAORAN!"

* * *

She tried not to make a sound, but it was hard when you've been running for a long time. She peeked over the boulder to scan the landscape for any sign of Asuka. Funny…he was there running behind her a few moments ago. Meimi leaned back against a few rocks and muffled her giggling. Playing hide and seek was so fun! "Especially if your opponent was someone as dumb as _him_…" she snorted. 

"Dumb as _who_?" Arms sneakily snaked around her waist and she was swiftly pulled to the sandy ground with a shriek of laughter.

Cut to Asuka, on top of Meimi, pinning her arms down.

She tried struggling but of course, it was no use. Besides, deep down she knew getting caught was half of the fun.

"Who's dumb now?" Asuka demanded, giving her a sardonic smile.

Meimi beamed, not afraid of him one bit. "You," she said simply.

Asuka looked down at the girl under him and took his time admiring her lithe frame. The low-cut halter one piece drew attention to her lean and tight body, from all those years of gymnastics. The blue floral pattern matched her brilliant aquamarine eyes, and her long hair fanned out around her head like a halo. He lowered his head and smirked when he felt her tense.

"Really…" he whispered in her ear, "And what is my name again?"

Meimi was breathless. "A-A…" Asuka grinned triumphantly and sat back up straight, crossing his arms. The grin vanished when with surprising strength she flipped him over so that _she_ was straddling _him_.

Oops. His fault for letting go of her arms.

"Dumbass!" Meimi crowed, "Your name is Dumbass!"

He stared at her in a in a strange mix exasperation and wonderment, but then grinned evilly. "You know," he said, resting his hands behind his head, "I can stay like this all day…can get used to the view."

Meimi looked confused but when it dawned on her what he meant she turned scarlet and fell sideways off him in a hurry. "ASUKA YOU DISGUSTING LOWLIFE OF A PERVERT!" she squealed, hiding her face.

She could hear Asuka chuckle. It was not until five minutes later after she made sure her cheeks returned to its normal colour, that she turned back to face him. She was about to smack him on the arm but found his eyes closed, a content smile on his face, dozing in the mid-noon sun.

'Eh…it's not fair if I hit him while he's sleeping,' she thought, and made herself comfortable on the warm sand lying next to him.

Making sure she kept at least a metre away from him, of course; just in case he tries anything.

Asuka opened one eye to see a head of strawberry blonde close, and his smile grew bigger.

* * *

He really should learn some self control. Really. Syaoran was sweating profusely as he concentrated hard on the book, not letting his eyes wander. 

The wind was getting rougher. Why? His ears perked up, hearing the roar of the waves become louder. 'Stop hallucinating,' he told himself, 'you just want an excuse to look over _there_…'

But then he sensed it. Strong, steady magic coming from…just where, exactly?

He turned as a gust of wind blew the hair out of his eyes. The trees, perhaps? It was definitely from there…but strange, he can distinctly feel it coming from another, more powerful source; in the opposite direction, where the cliffs were. He strained his eyes to look in the distance. A figure was standing on the very edge of the cliff, clothed in black robes. "Who…" Syaoran leapt up. The aura was very faint, but nevertheless, it must have been someone of great power if it was noticeable from such a far distance. Eager to find out who it was, Syaoran left his book and was about to sprint across the sand when–

"SYAORAN!"

The desperate, piercing cry made his head snap around, recognizing the voice.

"Kinomoto!"

Wasn't she in the water?

The sight of the ocean churning made his stomach wrench in dread. The water was tossing and turning and-

_-where the heck is Kinomoto?_

His eyes searched the troubled waters urgently. And suddenly he saw it. Her slender arm, sinking below the surface.

He watched it in slow motion and his heart stopped.

'She was using Float…'

'She doesn't know how to swim…'

Thoughts raced, fear seeping into his skin with every step he ran down the beach towards the water, stripping off his black shirt in the process. He dived straight in and instantly felt the magic in the water flow around him.

'_She was using Float…'_

'_She doesn't know how to swim…'_

His gut twisted, knotted. What if he didn't make it in time? He propelled himself faster, the urgency and adrenaline pumping through his veins.

'Stupid girl…you can't swim and you get yourself into this…'

'Where the hell is she…'

He broke the surface for an intake of air, whipping around wildly. This was roughly where she was. He could sense her; she was near. Her aura was weak and flickering. Flickering.

'Shit…if it goes out then…' he didn't want to finish his sentence.

Without another thought he dived back down, searching deeper and deeper.

'Wait for me, Sakura...'

* * *

"Do you think we're overdoing this?" Tomoyo said, her amethyst eyes clouded with agonized worry. 

Eriol didn't look too comfortable when he answered, "No…we _are _only using a bit of water magic…"

"Yes, I know…but somehow I feel our magic is being magnified…and when Sakura resurfaced she was terrified and it looked like something was trying to pull her under…"

"Well, look at it this way: this is going to a good cause, the plan is working smoothly," Eriol's voice steadied, "we've come this far; and I assure you, we are _not_ going to let them die out there."

Tomoyo only nodded and wondered if it worth it; she slipped her hand into his for some reassurance. But her thoughts turned to Sakura.

What was keeping her down there for so long every time she went under?

* * *

A ghostly pale body was plummeting into the depths of darkness. The little light that infiltrated that far under the sea nearly made Syaoran miss her, and he grabbed her arm just in time. Cradling her, he began to swim up, the job painstakingly slow since he was burnt out from the search. 

An invisible coil slyly wrapped itself around his leg.

'What the fuck?' Syaoran's eyes widened in shock as he was quickly being dragged down, 'is this what she was fighting against?'

He angrily kicked out at whatever was holding him and he felt the grip loosen. Not wasting another second he swam faster up, with Sakura, as if asleep, protectively embraced in his arms. Yet he could not hold his breath any longer. He fixed his stare on the bright light that glimmered past the surface, on the world above the surface. Every muscle in his body screamed out pain and his legs felt like lead. The bright light blurred. He needed oxygen. They weren't going to make it.

'We will not die here…' He felt a clench on his left ankle but continued to swim.

'Sakura and I will NOT DIE HERE!' he yelled in his head, as the light drew nearer and nearer.

-

Blue skies. How glad he was to see them again.

Syaoran breathed in huge breaths. They needed to get out of the water as soon as possible. He switched positions so that Sakura was now on his back, keeping her out of the water and making it easier for him to carry. She seemed lifeless, limp; her skin was cold but the pulse was still there.

"Hang…in there, Sakura," he muttered, feeling her chin rest on his shoulder. If he wasn't in this situation now, Syaoran would have blushed that some parts of her body were pressed right against his back.

Funny, why were the waters so calm? The sea had returned to this morning's state in the blink of an eye, with no sign of the turmoil it was in before. The wind had reduced to a soft, soothing breeze. Syaoran cautiously swam towards the beach, wondering if all he had just experienced was just a horrible dream.

When he could finally feel his feet touch the ground, relief flooded thought his tired body.

"Mmrh…" a feeble voice mumbled at his ear.

Syaoran felt even more relieved. Good. She was gradually regaining consciousness. He thought he had to perform CPR on her…not that he was looking forward to it, of course.

He slowly waded ashore, with Sakura making more incoherent noises. At last they reached dry land, and he gently slid her off his back and collapsed onto the ground, gasping from exhaustion. The refreshing salty air filled his lungs and he lay on his back, looking at the sky.

The perfectly beautiful, endless sky that he thought he would never see again. Reflecting on his experience, he realized he narrowly escaped death to save _her_.

"Her! Of all people!" he began to say in an appalled tone, but found he couldn't. Inside, he was so glad, so grateful that they had survived, that he couldn't bring himself to complain of her existence anymore. When he was watching her drown, his chest had constricted painfully and the fear that was running through him was so intense that he thought of nothing but getting to her. That fear…the fear of what, exactly?

The fear of losing her? No way.

Could it be that he was so glad, so grateful that _she_ had survived, that he couldn't bring himself to complain of her existence anymore?

Nah.

Syaoran pushed these thoughts away. Let's save them for another day. He sat up to check her over. She was still murmuring things, but now she was moving a bit, too. Her aura was strengthening; she was breathing steadily and a rosy colour was returning to her cheeks. He brushed the wet auburn locks off her face and shook her lightly.

"Sakura…"

No response. Syaoran looked a bit worried. She should be waking up any moment now…

"Sakura…wake up…" he tried again, leaning down closer to her ear.

"Hmm mrph ion…" said she.

"Sakura…please?" he coaxed gently, though he knew that she couldn't hear him.

Maybe she did.

Slowly those green eyes opened, and Syaoran backed away instinctively.

-

"Syaoran…?"

* * *

_The robed figure stood on the cliff overlooking the beach, his cloak flying behind him. _

"_My my, so lucky this time, Miss Kinomoto…" he grinned, showing yellowing teeth. "And just when I thought all I needed to do was distract Touya Kinomoto…"_

_He looked towards the small patch of trees near the beach with a frown. "And we had a little interruption with Mr Hiiragizawa and Miss Daidouji…"_

"_However…everything is still going according to the master plan…"_

"_So punishment at this stage is unnecessary…"_


	15. Thankful

CCSxSt Tail. Two rival gangs at Tomoeda High; Sakura's and Syaoran's. Both hate each other equally, but what happens when they have to stand side by side against another school? DM ET but especially SS

Hey all! Wheeeeee I rote this up while I was supposed to be studying for exams…don't you just love me? Lol…some interesting changes in Sakura's life in this chapter…

Have a good read !

Disclaimer: ccs is not mine.

**The Ice-cream Parlour: Thankful**

Touya's blood boiled at the sight of that _brat_ leaning over his sister. He threw his icecream away and hurriedly sprinted over, pushing Syaoran uncaringly aside. Syaoran not even resisting, toppled over from lack of balance and sheer exhaustion, his muscles still not recovered to support his weight.

Touya took one look at his sister and turned to Syaoran for an explanation, hollering, "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED WHILE I WAS AWAY!" Syaoran winced at his loud voice and found it hard to talk. "Where to start…" he muttered.

When his question wasn't satisfied Touya's anger merely jumped a few levels higher and was ready to pounce on the younger boy -

"Don't," came Sakura's soft, broken voice as her chest heaved up and down, looking for the first time in her life, weak and utterly drained.

Touya's fist halted in midair.

"You wouldn't want to kill my saviour, would you?" she smiled faintly. She closed her eyes, not even needing the pleasure of seeing her big brother's face when she made that little announcement. Touya's face contorted into an expression of firstly realization, then shock, then total disbelief. "Wh-what…you mean…" Syaoran would have laughed but his stomach muscles were killing him.

"That's right, Tou-ya," Sakura said still with her eyes closed smiling. She put a hand to her forehead. "I nearly died out there…and where were you? Lucky Syaoran was here…" Syaoran fell over in surprise. She just spoke his first name nicely.

Touya shuffled his feet, her words hitting its target: guilt. He crossed his arms in defense. "Well, what were _you_ doing out there," he countered haughtily, "you know you can't swi-"

"Shut up you," Sakura snapped, opening her eyes. "Don't baby me. You don't have the right to – after all, Syaoran pulled me out of the sea while you ran off somewhere. You did a _great_ job of keeping me 'supervised', Tou-ya," she sang the last line and her brother growled, annoyed.

"And, after all this, you have no right to even criticize Syaoran," she continued, trying to sit up (her statement again causing Syaoran to fall over), "he obviously felt more responsibility towards me than you, so from now on, you can't hurt a hair on his head or else– "

Sakura got the wind knocked out of her when she was suddenly tackled by a speedy beige blob.

"SAKURA!" Tomoyo sobbed hysterically on her shoulder, arms around her neck so-very-tightly. "I was SO worried when I watched-"

"What do you mean…you were watching!" Syaoran croaked, finding his voice at last. If they were watching why the heck didn't they come and help!

"We saw you drag her ashore," Eriol said smoothly before Tomoyo said anything else. Inside he sighed with relief that they were both alive and breathing. He hastily swallowed an amused chuckle as he watched Sakura awkwardly pat the teary Tomoyo on the back, instead of the other way around.

"So…Syaoran, you okay?" Eriol looked at his friend on the ground.

"Huh? Yeah…just a bit…sore…all over…" Syaoran mumbled. Eriol shook his head. Syaoran would never admit something hurts. He kneeled next to Syaoran and put a hand on his shoulder. "Lay on your back while I heal you, alright? It'll be quicker if you relax…" Syaoran obeyed and instantly felt a cool soothing sensation on his shoulder emitted from Eriol's hand.

"SYAORAN!"

Syaoran groaned. Why must everyone be shouting?

Asuka ran up with Meimi not far behind him. He had felt Eriol use heal magic and instantly sprang awake to see what was the matter. Looking at Syaoran, he wondered if it was anything serious.

"What happened-"

"Yeah, that's something I want to find out-" Touya said, feeling very unimportant surrounded by the group of teenagers.

"Long story-"

"Would you care to share-" Meimi began.

"OH MY GOD DAIDOUJI-" Syaoran yelled, suddenly leaping up but flinching at the pain.

"It's Tomoyo-" Tomoyo said her voice muffled in Sakura's shoulder.

"Tomoyo, whatever…LET GO OF SAKURA SHE CAN'T BREATHE!"

Everyone turned to Sakura who was turning a nasty shade of blue. Tomoyo quickly released her death hold on Sakura and Sakura gasped for air.

"That's twice you've saved me today, Syaoran," she joked, smiling her Masquerade smile. Perhaps she had forgiven him?

"Ahh…no problem, Sakura," he grinned and laid back on the sand for Eriol to heal him. He could definitely get used this.

Tomoyo and Eriol exchanged satisfied glances.

* * *

Icecream Parlour 

"So, Saku…why don't you give us a detailed account of how Syaoran saved you today…" Tomoyo taunted mischievously.

"Why don't you tell us what you and Eriol did while you 'went for a walk to buy icecream'," Sakura shot back, pleased that Tomoyo looked slightly flustered. Meimi laughed gaily at both of them, not trusting herself to sip her sundae because she might spray them all with vanilla and milk.

Sakura and Tomoyo glared at the laughing Meimi dangerously.

"Why don't you tell us who won the game of hide and seek?" Tomoyo said with an innocent smirk.

Meimi flushed red at the memory and squeaked, "Y-you saw that!" Sakura looked insanely interested; it was Tomoyo's turn to cackle evilly.

"Now, now Lady…stop bullying the poor girl," Mr Mikarzhi said fondly as he settled the tray at their table. Tomoyo beamed at the beloved nickname; he said he had called her that because she behaved very elegantly since a young child.

Mr Mikarzhi grinned at Meimi, who was sinking in her seat. "Girlie…you've turned as red as a tomato!" he observed as Meimi turned a darker shade of red and promptly buried her head in her arms to cover her face.

He loaded their empty glasses on the tray chuckling to himself, his kind hazel eyes bright behind thin glasses. Watching the deep-in-thought Sakura closely, he winked at her when he caught her gaze. "Missy Sakura…can you lend me a hand?"

"Sure," her chair made a scraping sound when she stood up. "Tomo…I order you to interrogate her!" she told Tomoyo as she pointed at the shrinking Meimi, "Squeeze every bit of information out of her!" Tomoyo nodded eagerly and saluted. Sakura laughed, following Mr Mikarzhi with the tray.

She put down the tray next to the sink and was about to turn on the tap to wash them, when Mr Mikarzhi said, "Nah don't worry I'll do them Missy…here can you take the garbage out?" he handed her a neatly wrapped bag of rubbish.

"Yep, no problem," she replied. Sakura headed out the back door smiling at his nickname for her. It seemed so long ago when he gave her that name. 'Missy' was created because of her tough tomboy attitude when she was a kid. Actually, the specific time was when he saw her push Syaoran into a vending machine just outside the parlour. She smiled at the memory; she only did it because he had thrown a water bomb at her before, which was after the incident where she chased him up a tree, and that was after he set fire to her letterbox…

Sakura dumped the heavy bag into the huge garbage bin. Really, now that she thought about it, all the times where she and Syaoran quarreled were quite fun. For some reason, they just didn't get along at all…it went back for as long as she could remember. She frowned. Some of the things he pulled on her were quite mean; but she had to admit that at times she was rather cruel to him. As they grew up it sort of escalated into full-blown rivalry. They even made the gangs because of this; they needed teammates! Sure, her friends _did _agree to it themselves, but it was never _their_ war. However, because of such intense competition, she was able to bond closely with Tomoyo and Meimi – at first they were just partners in crime – scheming after school, or staying up late making that perfect trap. But soon, they became her support structure – protecting her from degradation when the boys dyed her school uniform purple, listening to her rants about Ms Lai continuously picking on her, or comforted her when Syaoran smashed a picture frame of her late mother.

Sakura closed the lid of the garbage bin and dusted her hands. Perhaps she really needed to be thankful of this rivalry. She was doubtful whether or not she would have become this strong either; if Syaoran hadn't always teased her, or pull tricks on her, or constantly picked fights with her, she wouldn't be as tough as she was now. She had learnt to let criticism slide off her, and pick herself up when she had fallen over, and strived to better herself to keep up with him. She really wouldn't be what she is now without him. She had taken the good with the bad and funnily enough, though everyday she seemed ready to kill him, she had to give him some credit.

Sakura smiled at the realizations. She was right about giving him a chance. He did have some positive influences in her life in spite of everything.

Sakura was about to go back inside when the blank white wall beckoned to her. It was the same wall she leant again a few nights ago after the Masquerade. She could see her own handwriting scratched in the corner, barely visible:

_I hate him._

_He kissed me. _

And in a flash she remembered how he humiliated her in front of the entire school. She remembered how he tricked her into dancing with him. She remembered…the kiss… She remembered how she ran straight out of the school to here, breaking down and then in her misery scratched those words with a sharp stone. Sakura stared at the words, and for some reason, the feelings of resentment she should be experiencing didn't come.

After all, since that last entry, a lot of things happened.

Feeling the need to change the emotions that came off those words, Sakura walked closer to pick up a stone and stood in front of the wall pondering on what she should write.

Next to the two lines, she pressed and dragged the pointed edge slowly over the white paint:

_He saved me today._

She reread it carefully. Thinking it wasn't enough, she added another.

_I am thankful._

* * *

Home

"Yes…"

"…"

"It was because of Shinya at first, but I feel we need to take it slower…"

"…"

"I agree, though we need to…develop the relationship…"

"…"

"I believe in you completely…"

"…"

"We have to do it in secret…it would be disastrous if anyone found out…"

"…"

"Yes…thank you. I'll be there shortly. Wait for me-"

Fujitaka put down the receiver as soon as he heard the front door click.

"Father!" Sakura called, closing the door with her foot. She had just returned from the icecream parlour and was tired from all of the day's activities.

"Sakura…" he smiled warmly at his daughter, walking up to her and cupping her face. "My, it seems you've had quite a day!"

"Yeah…" her eyes trailed to her father's pressed fawn suit and the leather briefcase clutched in his hand. They further widened at the sight of a big suitcase next to him. "You're…leaving again?" she asked disappointedly, he never was around anymore. "So soon?"

"Yes, honey," Fujitaka lied with a cheerful face, hating the fact that he was doing this to his daughter. It would be best if she didn't know anyway; it would only hurt her. "I have to go immediately…"

"How long?"

"Ahh…yes…I have something to discuss with you, Sakura," he became serious and clasped both her hands in his. "I have to make it short because I have to go soon…this is unlike all the other business trips. I'm not going away for a few days this time; it's going to be much longer, and the problem is, I don't know when I'll be back, so I'm sending you off to someone to stay-"

"Oh that's no problem," Sakura said readily, "I'll just ring Tomoyo and I'll stay at her house-"

"No, listen, Sonomi called me back yesterday and said she couldn't because _she _was going overseas too; she was fine with Tomoyo being alone with the butlers and maids, but didn't want the responsibility of having you there too in case anything happens-"

"That's fine, I'll just go to Meimi's house then-"

"Sakura, honey…I haven't even met her parents yet…it's not that I do not trust them to take good care of you, but it's not very polite if I send my daughter to them if they don't even know who I am…"

Sakura sighed, knowing he was right. She was running out of options. "I know!" she brightened, "Touya and Yukito!"

"Don't be silly (bopping her affectionately on the head)…they have their hands full juggling university and jobs; do you really want to burden them? Besides, they live too far from your school."

"Then…who?" she said defeated and frustrated, "Can't I just stay here?"

Fujitaka looked at his watch. 'She's waiting…I can't let her wait…' he thought.

"Listen, Sakura, I have to get to the airport in half an hour. I've arranged for you to stay at someone's place already; so don't whine about it, okay?" he said sternly, "they're a good longtime friend of mine, so be good and don't be a handful. Their address is taped on the fridge with their phone number. I want you to pack as soon as you can…they're expecting you, okay?"

Sakura grumbled in response.

"Furthermore, I want you to know that this business trip involves a lot of heavy duty meetings and lectures…you know my number off by heart, but don't call me unless it's an emergency, 'right honey?" Fujitaka said with a grin, "so don't call me if their house doesn't have the right flavour of icecream or if you're missing a hairdryer…or if your room isn't the right colour-"

"Yes, yes I get it!" Sakura laughed, pushing her father out the door, "Hurry and get on that plane so the quicker you can come home!" She kissed her father goodbye and closed the front door.

Fujitaka closed the front gate with a sigh and straightened his clothes as he walked to the car.

"I'm sorry Sakura, for doing this to you but I have to go…you will understand soon enough," he said softly and drove away.

Sakura hummed as she walked to the kitchen to get something to drink. 'Just think! Living _almost_ by myself for a few weeks? A month? _Two _months? The family I live with will lead separate lives anyway…they'll leave me alone and I'll leave them alone…'

She opened the fridge absentmindedly with blissful thoughts, to retrieve the orange juice. Pouring herself a glass she thought, 'I wonder what kind of people I'll be living with…they better not piss me off, or else they'll suffer the wrath of Sakura Kinomoto…' she laughed quietly to herself, "or maybe, I can just run away and live with Meimi…nobody would know…"

But her father's words echoed in her mind: _"Don't be a handful."_ Sakura grimaced as she took a gulp. Oh yeah. She had to play nice to her father's friends. Sigh.

Who were her father's friends anyway…why hasn't she heard of them before? She turned to the fridge and spilled her orange juice as she read the note.

In her father's perfect handwriting:

Li Residence

8826-7056

168 Garden Rd

"LI?" Sakura wailed.

"FATHERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!"

* * *

Li Mansion

Wei opened Li's front door ready to welcome the visitor in. However, no one was in sight…but he was sure he heard a knock! "Must be me getting old and senile," Wei said cheerfully, about to close the door when he noticed a white box on the doormat. He glanced suspiciously at it. How did it get there? The mansion was surrounded by brick walls and security fencing...someone must have come through and delivered it! But nobody was around…and the front entrance was locked. Strange.

Nevertheless, Wei brought the mysterious box in and walked through the cool hallway. The card upon the box read:

_To Li Syaoran_

"Master Syaoran! You have a delivery!" he called. Footsteps thudded down the stairs.

Syaoran sneezed as he reached the bottom. "Damn, someone must be talking about me," he commented, "what is it?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Wei said, handing him the box.

Syaoran carried the box into the dining room, untying the dark ribbon. Wei followed him with interest. Master Syaoran certainly had a lot of admirers, but due to his cold reputation no girls ever dared to show their affection. Lest he burnt them to a crisp. Or electrified them to a crisp. Either way, he didn't care.

Syaoran touched the embossed logo on the corner of the box, something he didn't immediately see, and smiled recognizing it. "Mr Mikarzhi's Icecream Parlour…" he spoke softly. "Let's see what message she sends me…"

Wei watched with silent fascination as his young master opened the box, the waft of rich chocolate already heavy in the air.

'_Thankyou._'

* * *

**oooh interesting. lol**

**a lot of people cutting each other off in this chapter, don't you think? hehe so rude...interrupting...**

**R&R thankyou**

**scarletskies**


	16. Trouble

CCSxSt Tail. Two rival gangs at Tomoeda High; Sakura's and Syaoran's. Both hate each other equally, but what happens when they have to stand side by side against another school? DM ET but especially SS

Did everyone have a good Christmas and new year?

Disclaimer: ccs is not mine.

**The Ice-cream Parlour: Trouble**

School

"What's up your ass…" Eriol remarked, seeing Syaoran saunter up with a dark look.

Syaoran practically slammed his face down onto the cafeteria table. "She's coming," they heard him moan.

"What? Who?"

"_Her_." His gloomy voice was still stifled as he spoke to the table.

Asuka and Eriol looked at each other with raised eyebrows. Just as they were about to prod Syaoran for more answers three bright auras swept past; their female equivalents had coldly walked near their table and the boys felt the air around them drop a few degrees lower.

Sakura had also turned back for a second to glower in their direction.

"Man…" Asuka said bemused, "what the hell did you do to her?"

Eriol grinned, "I thought you two were on good terms now…"

"I didn't do anything," Syaoran ruffled his hair with both hands in an irritated manner, "_she's_ coming."

Asuka patted him on the shoulder. "She walked past already buddy…there's nothing to worry about."

"No…let me clarify," Syaoran cleared his throat looking up at his two friends; "she's _coming._ As in, _coming over to stay at my house _FOR GOD KNOWS HOW LONG!"

Asuka sat astonished while Eriol burst into laughter, causing a few nosy students around them to stare. Asuka bared his teeth and they all hurriedly returned to their lunches.

"You serious!" Eriol said after calming himself, "when?"

"Today, is my guess…" he gave Eriol a sideways glance, "you seem to be enjoying my pain."

"Ahh…" Eriol smirked his Cheshire cat smirk, "it will be a lotof _fun_, won't it?"

"Fun my ass," he banged his head on the table, "we were just on nice speaking terms, and now she hates me again. Every morning I will have to face a tigress who has the ability to set my hair on fire."

"Need some help?" Asuka took a gulp from his Coke. 'Poor guy,' he thought, 'imagine Haneoka living at _my_ house…' he shuddered just thinking about it.

"No it's alright," Syaoran replied grimly, "my mother had warned me to _play nice_."

Asuka choked on the Coke. "Your mother doesn't know her very well, does she?"

"Nope. I don't think my mother knows Sakura is just waiting for the opportunity to KILL HER SON," Syaoran rubbed his forehead wearily.

"So no ice-water-bucket over her bed?"

"Nope."

"No live spiders in her risotto?"

"Nope."

"Syaoran," this time Eriol and Asuka both slapped him on the back.

"We feel for you."

* * *

Students filed out of the school chattering excitedly, happy that classes had finished early today because the teachers were having a meeting. 

Under the huge oak outside the school gates a pretty brunette girl accidentally knocked the shoulder of Sakura Kinomoto. She was met with a frosty fierce glare that made her squeak and speed away.

Sakura made a 'heh' noise and without further delay resumed her begging. Sakura Kinomoto, begging?

"Pleeease," Sakura pleaded, big eyes used to their fullest potential as she hung onto Tomoyo's sleeve, "don't leave me…"

Tomoyo tried to swat her hand away, "I'm sorry, but something came up! I'm so sorry I can't go with you…"

"Tomoyooo…you promised!" whined Sakura.

Tomoyo bit her lip guiltily, "I know, but I'm sure you can go with someone else-"

"I CAN'T! Meimi has to stay back for gymnastics practice!" Sakura wailed even more mournfully, "and I don't want to find the Li house alone!" she let go her Tomoyo's sleeve to adjust the bag strap on her shoulder.

Tomoyo desperately tried to think up a way out. She couldn't believe Sakura could tackle fighting men three times her size but was too scared to follow a simple address!

'I really have to go…what to do, what to do…' Tomoyo thought. Her solution came in form of a distinct aura; she felt it draw closer and immediately recognized it. Over the years of being in Blood Phoenix, she had developed a keen alertness for these things. She looked at Sakura to see if she realized it but Sakura was too lost in her nonstop muttering.

Seeing Syaoran finally approach the school gate Tomoyo inched away from Sakura. "Listen, I have to go, but LOOK! There's Syaoran so you can walk home with him okay? Problem solved! Yeah? Everything fine? Okay! Byee!"

Sakura looked up just in time to see Tomoyo about to take off. "What!" She grabbed Tomoyo's hand on impulse, and Tomoyo groaned inwardly. 'Damn,' she thought, 'too slow…'

Sakura felt Syaoran nearing and she held on to Tomoyo's wrist tighter. Tomoyo waved her free hand to get Syaoran's attention and beckoned him over. He looked amused at the scene before him.

"Hi Syaoran!" Tomoyo greeted cheerfully. Sakura glared at her so-called best friend. _'Don't. You. Dare.'_

Tomoyo ignored her. "Sakura was _just_ about to leave…she's staying at your place, right? She doesn't know where you live so I thought you two-"

"Let's go," was all he said gruffly and he started walking away.

Sakura was so stunned he agreed so quickly she released Tomoyo from her captivity. Tomoyo took this opportunity to escape.

"B-but…" Sakura cried, "TOMOYO!"

Her friend was already at a considerable, unreachable distance. Tomoyo waved merrily, winked and darted off.

Sakura growled and re-adjusted the bag strap. By now, Syaoran had reached the crossing. 'Damn this,' she thought, running after him.

* * *

Syaoran felt her jog up next to him as he waited for the pedestrian light to turn green. "Took you long enough," he said with a slight sneer. If she was going to be cold towards him, he was going to return the favour. 

She didn't answer and walked past him stubbornly; only to realize that _she_ must be the one following _him._ 'Hmph,' thought Sakura, 'can it get any worse?' They walked in silence, both shunning each other but beginning to get tired of the act.

Shortly Syaoran turned a corner where his motorbike was parked. Sakura looked at the metallic green vehicle and willed herself to ask, "Is your house far?"

"No."

"Then why…"

"It's quicker to get to school everyday this way," for the first time he looked at her while speaking, gazing briefly at her face.

"Oh," she said, making a mental note to start doing that since she was always late (and then wondering why she had never thought of it before).

He handed her a spare helmet and she put it on her head, a snug fit. "Ready?" he called, waiting for her to get on.

She stood unmoving next to the bike and he rolled his eyes. "Back," he gestured behind him.

"I like to drive," she pouted, crossing her arms.

"This is my bike so I'm driving, and that's that," he heard her grumble as she climbed on and the helmet blocked his small smile.

The engine roared into life and soon they were stopped at the same zebra stripes they crossed before.

"I've never sat at the back before," her voice barely audible behind the helmet.

"There's a first for everything-" he froze when he felt a light pressure on his back as she scooted closer. He wondered if she did that to shut him up. She was wearing her P.E. uniform which consisted of a thin white polo and _very_ short shorts. And at once he had the flashback of her pressing up against him when he carried her at the beach.

"Hey Syaoran, the light is green," she nudged his back. Cars behind them honked and Syaoran felt his face color. Luckily she was sitting behind him. They zoomed off and Sakura's breath caught. "Hey you're going too fast!" she shrieked.

"No I'm not," was his bored reply.

"I'm not used to sitting at the back and not holding something!"

"Hold on to my waist, then," unknown to him, this time it was Sakura who blushed slightly. They shot even faster forward into a quieter road through the open fields, and Syaoran felt her grab his waist for safety.

She watched the scenery stream past, actually enjoying it. The trees that lined the road on both sides whizzed past as green blurs; the sun was shining and as she looked to the sky the clouds flew swiftly overhead, and she laughed. A light wave of bliss washed over her as they sped through the less developed part of town, where farms, livestock and white picket fencing still existed. Nature sure was beautiful when viewed at a hundred kilometres an hour. The droning of the engine made her deaf to everything around them but somehow, it just seemed perfect.

-

**BOOM.**

Syaoran narrowly swerved to the left to miss the exploding tree and Sakura screamed in her helmet, hugging onto Syaoran tighter.

"What the-"

BOOM.

The tree closest to them blew up into nothing but a shower of bark and leaves. Syaoran swore, the falling remains obstructing his view.

BOOM.

The force of the explosion made the bike sway dangerously. Sakura heard the drone of motorbikes add to theirs, and she turned to see three shiny black motorbikes tailing them. She could feel a dark presence lingering faintly behind.

"Syaoran!" she yelled, "It's the Sharks!"

"Fuck!" he shouted, "They're low enough to try kill us before Chinatown!"

BOOM.

A tree branch hurtled past their heads like a spear missing by a few centimetres. "Hurry! Do something!" Sakura looked fearfully over her shoulder again and found the black riders gaining on them. Normally she wouldn't have been this terrified; but at the moment, she wasn't in control, and she wasn't used to relying on someone else. "THEY'RE CATCHING UP!" she screeched in his ear.

"Shut up for a sec, woman!" Syaoran pulled a right, shortcutting through the field into the woods. He changed gears and urged his bike faster; the whine of the engine rumbling on a higher pitch.

The black riders followed them, the three perfectly synchronized, their black helmets glinting threateningly in the side mirror.

"Why did you cut into here? There's MORE TREES HERE!"

"It'll be harder to aim for us in here! Or do you want to get fried!"

BOOM.

They both ducked the sparks.

"YOU SHOULD HAVE LET ME DRIVE!" Sakura pounded his back angrily.

"QUIT YOUR BITCHING!"

BOOM.

A huge pine crashed down right in front of their path.

"SYAORAN!"

Syaoran slammed on the brakes and skidded sideways.

The smell of burnt rubber filled the air.

With a sickening crunch metal met solid wood.

Sakura was thrown off the bike…

And everything went black.

* * *

Sakura opened her eyes and the unfamiliar place was the first thing she noticed. "Where…" She tried sitting up but winced at the stinging pain, and fell back into the pillow. Pillow. Bed. Someone's room. 

Syaoran's face swam into view. 'He always seems to be the one reviving me,' she thought, glancing around at the surroundings, 'this must be his room.'

"Good, you're awake," he said, "thank god you woke up before Mother came home…she would personally hammer me to death if she found out you died on the first day in my responsibility…"

"How…"

Syaoran's expression changed into a grim smile. "I had to carry you back. You weigh like a sack of potatoes…what do you _eat_!"

"I would have slapped you if my arms don't feel so heavy," Sakura stuck her tongue out at him, "Tell me what happened."

"Well, the bike smashed into the fallen tree-"

"Your bike got _smashed_?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't matter, I can buy another one-"

"Oh yeah, I forgot you were one of those rich snobs-"

"Just shut it, will you? Anyway, bike got smashed to pieces, we both got thrown off, you landed on a massive bush which explains your scratches and why you didn't break any bones, and I landed perfectly on my feet due to my superb martial arts skills-"

"Bull," Sakura muttered.

"Stop interrupting. So, you were out unconscious, and the three black riders stopped and were about to get off, but I used Windy to sweep one of them into the air and he landed on the ground. The other two looked at me scared stiff, picked up their buddy and sped off."

Sakura looked puzzled. "What? That's it!"

"Yeah…I think they were underlings or something…maybe they only had one kind of magic," he said thoughtfully. "But wait, you still have to listen to the most _agonizing_ part. I had to drag you away off the bush and freaking _carry_ you back into the house-"

"Was it far?" she was beginning to feel a little guilty for being troublesome.

"No, not really; the woods are just behind my house (all Sakura's guilt evaporated), but still…I should have left you there and send the servants to get you…just my luck that they have the day off today. Seriously, what do you _eat_!" he asked again with a devious smirk.

Sakura stopped mid-frown, finding needle-sharp pain prick her forehead.

"Yeah, you need to get that cleaned up," he eyed the cut above her eyebrow, "I'll get some stuff…"

"You know, I can just get Tomoyo to heal this…"

"I know, but I didn't have her number. I phoned Eriol though; but he had his stupid phone turned off, which completely defeats the purpose of having a phone."

She closed her eyes and heard him leave the room, then heard the sound of a tap running somewhere down the hallway. Bathroom. She might as well start learning where everything was if she was going to live here.

He returned with a small tub of water and a washcloth, and then rummaged in his drawers for antiseptic and cotton wool. "I can't find them," he announced after a while, "just wait I'll ask Wei where they are."

She watched him walk out again and listened to repeated creaking and fading footsteps. Stairs.

Still lying there, she felt uncomfortable having him care for her like this. He was usually the one who _caused_ the pain. She turned her head. He didn't need to be so kind. She could take care of herself just fine.

She fingered the bedspread as she studied his room. It was a deep, rich forest green, complementing the mahogany furniture scattered around the room. The heavy curtains were pulled back to let in sunshine. 'It's pretty neat, for a boy's room,' she thought. Clothes were draped on the chair and books cluttered the desk, but everything somehow looked orderly. Her eyes widened at the sight of swords – real swords that were gleaming in the sunlight, with beautiful gold carvings at the hilt.

"Here," Syaoran dropped the bundle of items at the bedside table. He dipped the washcloth into the water but Sakura stopped him.

"I can do this myself. Can you get me a mirror?"

"Mirror, check." Syaoran watched her in amusement. "You have to get up first, even if you want to help yourself."

Watching her struggling to get up he supported the bottom of her back, but Sakura gasped feeling her back burn where he touched it. "Syaoran," she hissed, "What are you trying to pull?"

He looked offended and retorted, "Nothing! I was helping you, are you blind!"

She peeled away the bottom of her shirt and Syaoran whistled at the sore sight. "You've skinned yourself pretty bad there," he told her.

"Thanks for telling me, it hurts like hell," she said, pulling the shirt back down, "You can go now, I'll do this myself," she tugged the tub of water from his hands.

"Don't tell me you can clean your back by yourself, you idiot," Syaoran said with an eyebrow raised, pulling the tub back, "here, I'll help you-"

"I said I can do this myself!" she snapped, yanking the tub of water. It slipped from both their hands and spilled onto carpet. Sakura stared hard at the bedspread.

Syaoran picked tub up and refilled it. "Lift your shirt up," he ordered coldly.

"No."

"Why are you being so bloody difficult!" he spat.

'Why _am_ I being so difficult?' she thought. She was treating him even colder than before.

"I told you, the servants are away; Wei is busy so I'm the only one in this house who can help you," he dropped the mirror in front of her. "This can work both ways. You clean the cut on your stupid head and I'll wash your back. Goddamn your pride…lift that damned shirt up."

To Syaoran's surprise she picked up the mirror and reached for the antiseptic and cotton wool. She obediently uncovered her back, still refusing to look at him.

He was fine with that. Syaoran sat on the bed and washed the cloth again and words did not pass either of them as they worked.

-

Sakura was the first to break the silence.

"I'll stop being a bitch…if you promise not to pull anything during my stay here," she said softly, dotting the antiseptic on her forehead with the cotton wool.

Syaoran pressed the cool washcloth to her back.

"Deal."

* * *

Sunlight infiltrated in thin beams through the single broken window, catching the dust in the air. The massive cracks on the wall and ceiling suggested the cement shed was going to collapse soon, but that didn't seem to deter its inhabitants. 

Haka sat on a throne carved out of pure ivory and studied his bruised and battered comrade.

"Windy, you say?" he leaned back and brought a hand up to his chin.

The two black riders who were supporting their companion nodded eagerly.

Haida saw her brother stand up and start pacing backwards and forwards with a frown.

"It seems…we have underestimated…"


End file.
